Something That Finds You
by HannahBerrie
Summary: "Love isn't something you find. Love is something that finds you." In a time of tension in the land of Zootopia, Nick Wilde & Judy Hopps are arranged to be married as a symbol of peace and unity. The only problem? They can't stand each other (the 8 year age gap doesn't help either). A story following Nick and Judy growing up together, through all the good & bad.
1. Chapter 1

**[A/N]:** As a general note: I wanted this story to have fairytale-type vibe in the sense that it's timeless. There's no era or specific time period this story takes place in, there's actually elements from multiple time periods and European practices, so that made this pretty fun to write!

* * *

Predator and Prey had never gotten along. It was as simple as saying the sky was blue or that sugar was sweet. But war was threatening to tear apart the land of Zootopia, and something had to be done.

A wedding was decided upon, after all, it was the ultimate symbol of a union between two mammals. The most prominent predator family offered up their son, and the most prominent prey family, their daughter. The two families would be united for the greater cause of peace, a stepping stone for bridging the gap between the two parties.

Nicholas Wilde, age 8 and the son in question, was less than thrilled.

"I have to marry a baby?!" He exclaimed, holding the squirming bundle in his arms. The bunny, his betrothed, was no more than a month old, and no bigger than the size of his paw. She was crying, which Nick finally silenced by allowing her to suck on his finger. The staff 'aww'ed at this, to which Nick eyed them.

Nick and his family were visiting the Hopps manor in celebration of Judy's birth, and to finalize the agreement of the engagement. Nick's mother had stuffed him into a shirt with a collar so high he felt he could barely breathe, and pants so tight he couldn't run (he'd tried that already, sadly). Lady Hopps had handed Judy to him, a small gray puff of fluff swaddled in a lilac cloth, while the adults fawned over the two.

Nick frowned down at the little bunny. "I don't want to marry a baby!" He insisted. "Or anyone! That's gross!"

"Not a baby!" Lady Hopps corrected, beaming down at him, "You won't marry her until she's of age!"

"We still have 18 years," her husband added, along with a muttered, "Thank the Lord."

"It's for the good of the people," his mother reminded him gently, leaning down to ruffle the top of his head. "Trust me, Nicholas, I'm sure you two will grow to love each other. You may not understand now, but you will when you're older."

Nick wasn't too sure, but at this point, there was no use in complaining or whining about it (he'd tried that already, loudly).

His mother kissed his forehead and turned her focus back to Sir and Lady Hopps.

"Shall we discuss the land trade?" Nick's father asked as the adults drifted off to the other side of the room, leaving Nick alone with Judy, the boring baby bunny. She had stopped sucking on his finger and was instead staring up at him blankly, nose wriggling slightly.

Nick's nose twitched as he examined the kit closely, poking her gently to see if she'd do anything remotely interesting. "Do something," he instructed, though he was pretty sure babies couldn't even understand words.

Judy just waved her tiny paws up at him before grasping onto one of his knuckles as hard as she could. She blinked up at him with innocent, violet eyes as she gripped him, and Nick furrowed his brow.

"Dumb baby bunny," He muttered as Judy wriggled her nose up at him curiously. He pulled his knuckle away easily, but the moment he did her nose twitched faster and she started to make these high-pitched squeaking sounds that escalated into a full-on cry.

Nick's eyes flew wide open, and he started rocking her as best he could to calm her. "Quiet!" He hissed as Judy wailed, "You're gonna get me in trouble!"

"Is everything okay, Nicholas?" His mother asked as the adults looked back at him concernedly.

"Yes!" Nick answered quickly. He stopped his rocking and waved his finger in front of Judy's little muzzle, which caught her attention. The little bunny sniffled one last time before gripping back onto his knuckle, holding it tightly and smiling up at him happily.

"Weirdo," Nick muttered, breathing out a relieved sigh.

Judy only smiled more.

Nick tried to listen to what his mother had told him, tried to smile back when his father gave him an encouraging look, but he wasn't happy at all. Why did he even have to get married? Why were they making him marry a _bunny_ who _cried_ and liked holding _fingers?_ She was weird and Nick was never ever going to fall in love with her.

He was happy he still had ages to go, 18 years was practically forever away! He wouldn't have to see her for a long time.

Or so he thought.


	2. Chapter 2

Within a month after first meeting, the Wilde family temporarily moved into the Hopps manor, allowing time for the families to get to know each other and work out every last detail of the engagement. They were to live there for the beginning of Judy's life, and once Nick turned of age, he would be sent away to learn how to properly run a household, deal with foreign arrangements, and assume his role as a prominent member of the Zootopian government.

It all sounded terribly boring, except for the getting-to-leave-the-Hopps part, because for Nick, living in Bunnyburrow was absolutely the worst thing ever. Living with his future wife meant hours spent posing for portraits while Judy sucked on his paw or sunk her teeth (or, tooth, rather) into his arm. She would always fidget and cry whenever she was bored and the painter would blame Nick for startling her (but how was Nick supposed to know that she would be scared of a little growl?).

Or there were the dinner-dances, the _dances,_ in which Nick had to wear itchy clothes and dance with a dumb bunny baby in his arms. And it wasn't just the dancing — the food was just as bad. Carrot _everything:_ steamed carrots, puréed carrots, carrot stew, carrot cake, carrot biscuits, carrot soup, carrot flambé, carrot pies, _raw_ carrots…

Judy didn't seem pleased with the menu either — at one of the more drawn-out dinner-dances, she'd flung a spoonful of mashed carrots right onto his muzzle. Much to the staff's amusement. Judy had also found it hilarious, beaming at him as he wiped the orange goop off his muzzle in disgust.

"You're gross!" Nick told her bluntly.

Judy just laughed.

But the dinners weren't nearly as bad as his tutoring sessions, namely practicing _etiquette._ Nick would sit at a table in the study while he learned the difference between a cake fork and a salad fork, or how to properly sip tea. Tea was terrible, by the way, but that didn't stop Nick's tutor from making him drink it each lesson. The fox was caught feeding it to Judy once (which, in his defense, _she_ seemed to like it) and consequently had to sit in the corner for the rest of the lesson.

Or Judy's first birthday party, in which Nick met even _more_ of her relatives. They came in herds from all over Zootopia; the line of carriages had gone through the whole front lawn and down the valley. It was awkward, having so many strangers gush over him while he tried to process the fact that in 17 years, he would be related to all these weirdos.

For a baby, Judy knew way too many people.

There'd been more dinner and more dancing with all of her family members, and afterwards, Judy got to blow out the candles on her birthday carrot cake (well, technically, Nick blew them out, since she was too much of a baby to do anything other than just stare at the candles' flames blankly).

After cake, was presents, which was a whole ordeal in and of itself, the main event being that Judy received a new rattle and promptly threw it at Nick's head. He was quickly learning that this bunny had a strange passion for chucking things at him.

 _Exactly_ what you wanted in someone you were forced to spend forever with.

Overall, Nick spent most of the first couple years at the Hopps manor being tutored, exploring the manor's grounds, and sitting in the back of the room during fancy meetings about the status of Zootopia. He didn't understand much, nor did he care. His father usually let him and Judy draw together while the adults discussed trade agreements and land divisions and other boring stuff.

Nick would lie on his stomach, doodling on a piece of parchment while Judy watched from where she sat beside him. He would eye her every now and then, pausing only to pass her his ink quill so she could try. She'd grab it from him and wave it excitedly, and for a moment Nick considered that maybe, just maybe, he could be friends with this dumb baby bunny.

Then Judy would smile, smack her paw right in the middle of his drawing, and leave a tiny, inky paw print right in the middle of his work.

"Hey!" Nick hissed, yanking the quill from her, "You ruined it!"

He waited for her reply, as if she'd speak up to defend herself, but of course, she didn't. Judy only blinked at him innocently before she crawled over to him and started sucking on his ear. As if she had to prove to him that yes, she _could_ be more annoying.

Nick wasn't surprised.

* * *

The Hopps manor was quite an impressive estate. After all, it was built to accommodate a good hundred or so bunnies (though most of the older Hopps children had moved to manage their own households now). It had 4 floors, a sprawling lawn and garden, and numerous secret passageways that Nick still hadn't fully discovered.

Which is why, out of this whole big giant house, Nick didn't get why his bedroom just had to be right next to Judy's. The wall that separated their rooms felt like it was thinner than any other wall in the house too. He could often hear the baby bunny fussing at night, keeping him awake more often than not. Normally, a member of the household staff would attend to her, but on one particularly stormy night, Judy kept _crying_ and _whining_ and _squeaking_ and Nick just couldn't take it anymore.

So, begrudgingly, he pulled himself out of bed and scampered over to Judy's room. The rain was pitter-pattering against the roof as he tip-toed in quickly. If this bunny got him in trouble from sneaking out of his room at night….

…Well, he wouldn't be surprised.

Judy was squirming in her crib when Nick leaned over the railing to peer down at her, his tiny muzzle slouched in an annoyed frown."Hey!" He whispered, causing Judy to pause her sniffling and smile up at him excitedly, " _Quiet!_ You're being annoying!"

Judy whined in response and waved her arms out to him. Dumb bunny.

"Fine," Nick muttered. He rolled his eyes and picked her up as carefully as he could, blushing slightly when she rested her head on his shoulder and sighed contently.

"You're such a dummy," Nick mumbled as Judy wriggled her nose and made a happy little squeak, "Can't you sleep normally like everyone else?"

She looked almost cute as she smiled at him, violet eyes half-closed as she started to drift off, little ears rested flat against her head, and for a moment, they actually got along.

Until she suddenly sunk her tooth into his shoulder, and the moment ended as quickly as it took Nick to growl, cause Judy to cry, and get in trouble with the nanny for sneaking out of his room to bother her.

He definitely wasn't surprised.

* * *

Despite all of Nick and Judy's shortcomings, not all of their times together were _completely_ bad. There were times when they'd be drawing in the back of a meeting, and Judy would _actually_ contribute to the drawing by drawing a scribble of a flower or bunny. Or when Judy accidentally knocked over Nick's cup of tea, rendering it impossible for him to drink, much to the tutor's annoyance and Nick's glee.

Or that one evening, when Nick practiced reading by reading a nursery rhyme book to Judy. They were seated by the fireplace in the library, Judy curled up in his lap, and she actually went a whole hour without biting him. She wriggled excitedly at the bright illustrations, and smiled when Nick used different voices for each character.

He read to her until they both fell asleep, Judy's head tucked into the crook of his neck and drool trailing onto his shirt; Nick's muzzle rested on the top of her head with one hand hanging onto the book, and the other rested on her back.

The moments they got along?

Now _that_ was a surprise.


	3. Chapter 3

When Judy was 4 and Nick was 12, their parents actually got them to play together.

Sort of.

The two were outside in the manor's gardens on a warm autumn day. Well, to get technical, Nick had been outside, avoiding his future wife. It'd been the mothers who'd sent Judy to follow him, insisting that he spend time with her (an activity he avoided as often as he could).

He was lounging in the branches of a low tree, picking off the fiery leaves one by one and dropping them lazily to the ground, when Judy stomped over with a high sense of importance.

"Go away," Nick said uninterested, cutting her off before she could call out to him.

Judy was not to be deterred. "I wanna play guards!" The little bunny insisted, paws folded against her chest and muzzle bunched up into a tight pout. At 2 years of age, she'd finally begun to talk and it had been a nightmare for Nick ever since.

Nick frowned at an amber leaf he was examining in his paw. "What's guards?"

"It's where I'm a guard and I catch you!" She explained, craning her neck back to look at him. "You go to jail, and then you escape, and I catch you again, because I'm the guard!"

"That sounds dumb."

"It's not dumb!"

"It is. I'm not gonna do that."

"My mommy says you have to!"

"Well, your mom doesn't control me."

"I boss you!"

"No you don't."

"Yes I do! We're _bethrowed."_

"Betrothed."

"That's what I said!"

"No it isn't!"

"Is to!"

Nick rolled his eyes. Fighting with her was exhausting. It didn't help that she was literally 4 and in her mind, always right. "Go play with your nanny, or something."

Honestly, Nick didn't really like playing with Judy. She was always so particular, and got _way_ too into it. A couple weeks ago, he'd had his friends over from town, and she'd insisted that they all play together. It was some weird tea party game where one cup was poisoned and they had to figure out who poisoned it, or something like that. They'd all had to sit around her little table in her little chairs that made their knees bend awkwardly over the edge of the table, while she dispersed the teacups for them to drink. And that wasn't even the worse part: Judy had _actually_ secretly dumped a load of salt into one of his friend's cups (as they'd found out the hard way).

Long story short, his friends didn't spend much time at his house anymore. And on days like today, Nick couldn't even go over to _their_ homes, because he was punished, thanks to last night's cake incident.

"No! I wanna play with you!" Judy insisted pleadingly. "You're more fun! Please, please, please, please, please, please, pleaseeeeeeeeeee?"

Nick sighed and flicked a leaf in her general direction, though it easily missed due to the fall breeze. "You're annoying."

"eeeeeeeeeasssssseeeee?"

It would be useless to protest at this point, really. Judy would just keeping asking until she ran out of breath and toppled over or passed out or something. Then Nick would be to blame, of course.

"Fine!" Nick interrupted, finally putting an end to her high-pitched 'pleases'. "I'll play cards."

" _Guards!"_

"Same thing."

He took his time crawling down from the tree, smirking at the way she squirmed and whined impatiently. Not only was Judy the most annoying bunny he'd ever met, but she was also the most impatient.

Last night, in particular, was no exception — she'd nearly exploded during dinner. Lady Hopps had announced that the cooks had prepared a carrot cake for dessert, much to the bunnies delight. Judy's little gasp could be heard loudly throughout the entire room — Nick should have known that from that moment on, she wouldn't make it.

Throughout the entire meal, she'd squirmed in her seat beside Nick, practically inhaling her dinner instead of taking actual bites. Nick had barely touched his carrot salad before she dropped her fork down on the table, plate licked clean.

"Can I have cake _now?_ " Judy had pleaded, bouncing in her seat.

"Not until later," her mother informed her, giving her a stern look. "You must learn patience, my dear."

Judy had slouched with a pout, Nick had snorted at her, she stuck her tongue out at him, and he returned the favor.

" _Ha ha_ ," he whispered teasingly, snorting again when her face scrunched up so much it looked like it might cave in on itself.

"Meanie!" She'd whispered back, poking his leg under the table.

"Impatient," Nick smirked.

Judy just folded her arms across her chest and said nothing, seemingly hoping that if she sulked enough she would get the cake faster.

But the adults' conversations dragged on, her siblings bites grew slower and slower, and Judy's foot thumped so fast it looked like it was about to fall right off. She would sit up, slouch back down, huff, whine, gripe, grumble, moan, cry, and sniffle — completely ruining Nick's dinner experience.

So…

It was just to shut her up — that was the repeating excuse in Nick's head as he'd snuck her into the manor's kitchen. Not because he _cared,_ or anything. Judy was annoying and he could care less about anything to do with her. A fox just needed to eat in peace.

Judy's sight landed immediately on the carrot cake, standing tall and impressive on the kitchen counter. She quickly pushed a stool over to the counter, and with a boost from Nick, rested her little paws on the counter and gazed at the confectionary with saucer-wide eyes.

"Alright, just take some and let's go," Nick instructed, glancing at the door behind them, "If we get caught, we could get in so much trouble!"

Judy licked her muzzle, eyes grazing over the whipped cream cheese frosting with its intricate patterns, the dainty carrot shavings dusted over the cake like snowfall. "Okay!" She whispered.

"I'll cut it—" Nick began, but the bunny was quicker.

Without hesitation, Judy dove a paw right into the heart of the cake, bringing up a toppling pawful and smacking it against her muzzle happily. "Yummy!" She cheered, turning to look at him with a mouthful of cake.

Nick stared at her, gaping and nearly horrified. "Are you crazy!?" He hissed, paws raising to tug at his ears. "We're going to get in so much trouble!"

Judy blinked at him innocently, muzzle slathered with the frosting and carrot bits. "What? It's good!" She dug in for another pawful, and held it out to him. "Try!"

"No way! My Mom will kill me!"

Judy just looked indifferently at him and went back to munching on the cake, tail wriggling with content. "Yum yum," she repeated to herself, licking every last smear of frosting off her paw.

Nick had to admit, that it _did_ look pretty good — even though the past 4 years had him set on carrots for life. He glanced at Judy, the door, the cake, then Judy again.

Well, even if he didn't eat any, even getting caught like this would be enough to get him in trouble. What did he have to lose?

"Dumb bunny," he muttered as he too grabbed a pawful of cake. He took a big bite, eyes closing happily as the delicious flavors danced across his tongue.

Judy giggled as she watched him eat the cake with her, and Nick couldn't help but laugh a little bit too.

Until they got caught by the chef, he'd alerted their parents, and Nick's mother yanked him out of the kitchen by his ear. It'd been worth it though (mostly).

He had to imagine that playing Guards with Judy was the second part of his very extensive and elaborate punishment, as meticulously explained by his mother last evening.

He climbed down from the tree, landed on the ground, and had barely dusted himself off before Judy hopped up to reach his paw, grasped her fingers around his thumb, and pulled him off to the blueberry fields.

"How long is this gonna take?" Nick asked, letting her drag him along.

"A lot long," Judy chirped, pausing to grab a handful of blueberries with her free paw. Nick followed suit — despite the Hopps' abundance of carrots, the blueberries they grew made up for it and then some.

 _A lot long._

Nick rolled his eyes up to the crisp fall sky, mouth full of blueberries. "Great."

The game, as it would turn out, was as simple as Judy had described it: she toted him off to a makeshift cell that was really just a square of twigs and pebbles she'd laid out between some blueberry bushes. Nick would sit inside, she'd turn her back, and he'd attempt to run off. Judy would hunt him down, bring him back to jail, and the cycle would repeat.

It seemed pretty bland to Nick, but Judy seemed to get a complete thrill out of it. Every time he'd take off running, she'd be right on his tail, chasing after him at surprising speed. Even though she was only 4, her legs were growing in quickly, which was bad news for him, because she seemed to be a professional at catching up to him, grabbing his leg, and tripping him.

"You're under a rest, bad guy!" Judy would announce proudly, giggling so hard Nick thought she might explode.

"Arrest."

"Yeah!"

Nick snorted. "You're such a dumb bunny," he smirked as Judy tugged him up from the ground and pulled him back off to jail.

"Am not!" Judy pouted.

"Are too," Nick teased. "You can't even say 'arrest' right, how are you gonna be a guard?"

Judy frowned for a moment, seemingly stumped by this question. When she couldn't come up with a proper retort, she instead insisted, "You're the dummy!"

"Says the dummy."

In protest, Judy tripped him again, he fell, and she proceed to crawl all over him, poking and tickling him as best she could. "Take that!" She giggled, laughing only harder as he squirmed and cried out in protest.

"Q-quit it!" Nick laughed, trying to grab ahold of her paws but to no avail.

"No!"

The two tussled back and forth as they rolled on the ground, both tickling each other as desperately as they could. They were so distracted with trying to out-do the other that neither noticed when they toppled down a small hill. They flopped and flew and fell, fallen leaves clinging to their fur and blueberries smashed against their clothes, laughs mingling together and shaking Nick's sides so hard that they hurt.

And for the second time in 24 hours, Nick found himself actually having fun with the dumb bunny baby. Not that he'd ever tell his friends, or his mom, or her mom. Just because they got along _sometimes_ doesn't mean that he _liked_ her or anything, let alone that he wanted to marry her.

But for now…

He landed on his back, gasping for air between his laughs while Judy giggled uncontrollably. He nudged her playfully, and she punched (more like poked) his arm.

For now, this was fine.


	4. Chapter 4

Of course, the other kids at school were bound to find out eventually that they were engaged, despite the fact that Nick had made Judy swear to secrecy.

"You can't tell _anyone,_ and I mean _anyone,_ " Nick had told the little bunny, pointing his finger at her as she sucked on a lollipop that she'd gotten from who knows where.

They were in her bedroom, Nick standing in front of her as she sat on her bed. They'd suffered a particularly close call today, in which upon walking home from school, they'd been stopped by a kid from Nick's class.

"Why ya' always hanging around with pipsqueak here?" The young weasel had asked, snickering as he glanced between them.

"Go away, Duke," Nick had snapped, eyeing the weasel with great disdain.

"Who ever heard of a fox that lives with a bunch of bunnies anyway?" Duke continued, following them as they walked past him. "You homeless or something, Nicky?"

Judy had glanced up at Nick, seen the way he was frowning and fuming, and immediately piped up. "He's not homeless!" She'd shouted back at the weasel, turning around to face him. "Nick and I are getting — "

Nick had never been more thankful for his inherited fox reflexes, as within seconds he'd slapped a paw over her little muzzle. "We're getting home," he said quickly, as Duke raised a suspicious eyebrow. "So…piss off."

Judy had squirmed in protest but it was too late, Nick was already dragging her back to the Hopps' manor as quickly as he could.

Nick was still feeling humiliated from the whole ordeal.

Judy seemed completely indifferent to the entire situation.

"Why?" She'd asked, looking up at him innocently.

"Because it's embarrassing! If anyone finds out I'm _engaged_ to a 6-year-old, they'll all think I'm a loser!"

"Why?"

"Because that's stupid?"

"Why?"

"Because literally no other teenager in the world is engaged to a kid!"

"Why?

"Because!"

"Wh—"

"Stop!" He held up his paws in exasperation. "Just don't tell people, okay?"

Judy twirled her lollipop in her paw as she thought, swaying her legs over the edge of her bed. "But what if I really, really, want to?"

Nick hesitated. "Then…don't want to."

"I don't wanna lie!"

Nick rolled his eyes. "It's not lying, it's just…not telling everyone _everything_."

Judy eyed him. "That sounds like lying!"

"Well, it's not. And I'm older and smarter, so you gotta listen to me."

"Nuh uh!" Judy snorted and giggled. "I'm smarter than you!"

Nick scoffed defensively. "No you're not!"

"Oh yeah? What's 2 + 2?"

"4!"

"No!"

"It literally is."

Judy shook her head. "You lie too much."

"I told you it's not — you know what, never mind. Just don't tell anyone, ok? Please."

Judy bit down on her lollipop, replying with a mouthful of candy. "Ok."

Nick nodded, breathing out a small sigh of relief. "Ok. Good."

* * *

He should have known that she wouldn't keep her word. At least, that's what he had to assume when a few days later, he found himself followed by a trail of giggling 6 year olds. He was wandering around town, checking out some of the shops with his friend Finnick, when the small fennec fox had pointed it out to him.

"Look's like you've got a fan club, Nick," he snorted, nudging Nick hard in the arm.

Nick glanced behind him, and indeed, there was a group of giggling little bunnies, lambs, and cubs. We they saw that he'd seen them, they giggled only harder and ducked into a shop, all whispering to each other conspiratorially.

Nick frowned. "That's…annoying. I think they're from Judy's class."

Finnick smirked as he started to shake, trying to hold back his laughter. "Well, it looks like they like you, _Nicky_."

Nick rolled his eyes. "They're probably just lost, or something."

They weren't. Actually, they proceeded to follow Nick and Finnick all through town, each time ducking for cover whenever Nick so much as glanced in their general direction.

It was getting a little ridiculous. A fox could only take so much, after all.

He marched over to them, causing them to cluster together and giggle uncontrollably.

"What's the big idea?" Nick asked, resting his paws on his hips as he gave them his best annoyed glare. "Can't you guys follow someone else around?"

"Is it true?" One lamb asked, her voice a curious little squeak.

He eyed her. "Is what true?"

"Are you marrying Judy?" A cub piped up, immediately bursting into nervous giggles.

 _Well, great._

"What are you talking about!? I'm not marrying anyone!" Nick scoffed defensively. Surely, a little deflection would work.

It didn't.

"I heard you are! You're going to get married!"

"You're like a prince!"

"Judy will be a princess!"

"Will you marry me too?"

Nick felt his fur stand on end. A burning blush whipped across his face as harshly and quickly as a slap, and his heart immediately went into overdrive. And as if the ringing in his ears wasn't enough, Nick could hear Finnick cracking up in the background, holding as his sides and wheezing.

"Is this for real?" Finnick managed to bark between laughs, "You engaged to a bunny, man?"

There was a laundry list of things Nick wanted to do at that moment, including disappearing from the earth forever, but namely, getting back at Judy for blatantly ignoring the simple task of keeping her muzzle shut.

"Let me guess, Judy told you," He grumbled darkly, eyebrows a flat line across his forehead.

But, much to Nick's surprise —

"No!" A little bunny insisted, shaking her head. "My mom told Abby's mom and then Abby told Susie and Susie told me and then I told them! And then they told — "

Nick held up a paw. "Okay, okay, I get it! So Judy didn't tell you?"

The kits shook their heads. "Nope!"

Nick could feel himself physically deflate. _Of course_ , everyone over the age of 20 or so remembered the day the Unity Proclamation was announced (aka, the worst day of Nick's life, other than today, maybe), of course their parents would know of the engagement. And here he was, fully ready to tear Judy apart, when she'd kept to her word.

He'd headed back home, after all, why would he want to continue to stand there and be laughed at?

He'd searched around the manor, calling out for the little bunny, until he'd found her out in the gardens, hunched on a bench, crying and hiccupping and sniveling into her lilac blue dress. When she saw him approaching her, she flinched and quivered harder. "I-I'm sorry, Nick! I promise I didn't tell! I'm not a liar! The other girls found out and now they're telling everyone and I'm really, really sorry!"

Nick felt his heart grow heavy with pity, and for once, he actually felt bad for this poor dumb bunny baby. He sighed as he sat down next to her, dragging a paw through the flower petals scattered across the garden ground. "I know you didn't tell," he assured her, causing her to pause in her crying and glance at him, nose twitching.

"You do?"

"Yes, you dumb bunny. Now stop crying, would ya'?"

"Sorry," Judy mumbled, wiping at her eyes hastily. "…You're not mad?"

Nick shrugged.

"Why?"

"I'm just not."

"Why?"

He held up a paw. "Okay, we're not doing that again."

Judy smiled at him. "Wh—"

Nick eyed her. "This is why you're annoying."

Judy giggled. "You're the annoying one."

"I'm literally not."

"Are you excited to marry me?"

The question caught Nick off guard, to say the least. After all, it'd come out of nowhere and without much of an introduction. Then again, Judy had been into questions like that lately. Her parents had been discussing the carrot plots when she'd piped in out of nowhere to ask where kits came from.

The fox nearly choked on his own tongue as he burst into a coughing fit.

Judy cocked her head to the side as she looked up at him curiously, still awaiting an answer. "Well? Are you?"

What was he supposed to answer? Because truthfully, he still was hoping his parents would change their minds about the whole thing. It'd been 6 years and unlike his mother had said, he still didn't understand anything, nor did he grow a spontaneous desire to marry a little kit.

So what should he say? No? No, you embarrass me? No, he still wasn't sure how he felt about interspecies relationships? No, the idea of marrying a kid was weird and gross and how did no one else see how _weird_ this was?

Maybe he should tell her. After all, their relationship up until now was slightly…confusing. Some days they got along, some they were arguing, and some days, like today, they were once again confronting the fact that they were stuck together. Maybe if he told her off, she would finally know how he felt, or rather, how he _didn't_ feel. No more following him around, no more pestering him, no more pretending that they were some kind of couple.

He opened his muzzle to say it. Braced himself, turned to her and everything. But then he saw her — actually saw her, smiling up at him all curiously, a hopeful glint in her eye…

…Bunnies were too cute for their own good.

"I gotta finish my geometry lessons," Nick grumbled, picking up his school bag.

"You didn't answer," Judy pouted, watching him leave with a huffy sigh.

 _"You wouldn't want me too,"_ Nick muttered, an uneasy feeling settling in his stomach.


	5. Chapter 5

**[A/N]:** I just wanted to say thank you for all the warm response this story has received! Thanks for all your lovely reviews, I keep and re-read each and every one of them!

* * *

One spring when Judy was 8 and Nick was 16, she caught him stealing a kiss from a vixen his age under the apple tree near the front gate. The vixen was some girl from town, Judy didn't know her name, nor did she want to. All that mattered was that the giggling, tittering, eye-batting vixen had been hanging around far too often, and Nick hadn't been often enough.

Since she was 8 now, Judy felt she that was practically grown up, and knew that she was very smart. She knew that Nick thought she was dumb, but that absolutely wasn't true. Sure, she might not know what _Algebra_ was yet, but she was smart enough to know when Nick was lying (which was far too often).

She'd first grown suspicious when Nick was constantly sneaking out after dinner, saying he was going to bed "early." Her parents and his parents always believed it, but Judy didn't. He'd say his 'please' and 'thank you's' before scampering off, darting out of the dining room and heading towards the front entrance.

While the grown-ups stayed behind and chatted about boring grown-up stuff, Judy was the one to follow him. She was thankful for her lack of paw pads, as that made her footsteps extra quiet and sneaky. Perfect for hunting down the fox, following him outside, and watching from the bushes as he met a vixen at the front gate. The foxes would smile at each other all _sneakily_ and dart off to do…well, bad teenager things, Judy assumed.

And the dumb fox thought he was _so_ sneaky (he wasn't)! There was something going on between them, she just knew it!

Her suspicions grew when Nick had the _nerve_ to invite this girl into their home! She knew they weren't "just friends," as he'd told everyone. The vixen was always giggling at every dumb joke he said, even the REALLY not funny ones. And she was stuck to him like glue, practically tripping over his big dumb tail. They would always hide away in the library together, sitting a little too closely in _Judy's_ favorite chair, no less.

She'd tried to do some extra-close investigating, though it hadn't gone well.

"Can I play with you guys?" She'd asked one evening, approaching the two as they laughed over some dumb book they were reading together.

"We're not 'playing,'" Nick had snorted, causing the vixen to, of course, giggle.

"Why don't you run off and play with your carrot dolls, or whatever it is you bunnies do," she'd cooed teasingly at Judy.

Judy frowned, her paws balled into little fists of frustration. "I don't have 'carrot dolls'."

"Then go make some," Nick said breezily, hardly throwing her a glance.

Judy opened her mouth to retort, eyes blazing and little foot thumping furiously. "I'm not—"

"Go on now," the vixen said, dismissively cutting her off.

It was useless. Storming out of the library as they sat there, all close and snuggly, was the closest Judy had ever come to actually catching them doing something couple-y. That is, until today.

It went without saying that after weeks of suspicion, of being brushed off, tossed aside, ignored, and mocked relentlessly _,_ finally seeing the vixen's muzzle all smashed up against his, against _her_ betrothed, her _lying, mean, completely dumb_ betrothed, made her go ballistic.

Well, as ballistic as an 8 year-old, 1.5-foot tall bunny could be.

It wasn't like she was jealous, or anything. She didn't like Nick, or any boys for that matter. But Nick was _hers,_ and she wasn't about to just sit back and let some random nobody from town waltz in and steal what was legally contracted to her.

She narrowed her eyes as she stormed over to the apple tree, feet smacking against the muddy earth with resounding thuds as she picked up speed. "Get away from him!" She'd exclaimed hotly (and slightly panting). She'd darted between the two and pushed the vixen away from Nick, glaring up at her, standing full stature and paws on her hips.

"What on earth?!" The vixen snapped, matching Judy's glare, "Can't you get a hint, you stupid little bunny? Leave us alone!"

"You need to leave US alone!" Judy retorted, "Nick belongs to me!"

The vixen snorted. "And how is that?"

"Don't listen to her!" Nick interrupted quickly, trying to get past Judy, but to no avail. The little bunny, still with her back to him, kept stepping in front of him each time, blocking off any advances he tried to make towards the vixen. "She's crazy. Hay fever, you know how it is."

"I don't have fever!" Judy insisted, still glaring up at the smirking vixen. "I'm his fee-on-say!"

"Fiancé," Nick corrected her without thinking. But the minute the word left his mouth, he realized his mistake and slapped a paw over his face with a groan. "Damn it…"

The vixen paused, blue eyes widening. "What?!"

"We're getting married!" Judy proclaimed, paws folding across her chest, "Maybe if you knew how to read a book, you would know about the Unity Prock-a-mation!"

"Proclamation," Nick muttered, paw dragging down his face and pulling on his eyelids. "It's pronounced ' _proclamation_ '."

"That's what I said!"

"Wait, wait, wait…" The vixen waved a paw in the air as she glanced between the two of them, as if she was waiting for elaboration. "You're kidding me, right?"

Judy raised an eyebrow, arms still crossed, and Nick offered the vixen an apologetic look.

There was a beat of silence, and then the vixen started to snort, then giggle, then laugh, and she then laughed and laughed and laughed until she was nearly crying. "You're engaged to a child?!" She exclaimed through her tears, to which both Nick and Judy rolled their eyes (albeit for different reasons). "Sweet mercy, that's...that's… _p-pathetic!"_

"It's not like I asked for this!" Nick said defensively, much to Judy's annoyance. "You think I wanna marry her?"

"Does it matter?" The vixen answered, still laughing profusely. "How do you expect me to date you now?!"

Nick opened his mouth helplessly.

"That's what I thought," She snorted, turning her back to him as she headed to the front gate. "Have a happy marriage, Nicky!" She called out, laughter echoing even as she headed off down the trail to town.

Judy smiled confidently as she watched the vixen leave. "I think we showed her!" She said, turning to Nick proudly and smiling up at him.

Nick blinked after the vixen for a moment longer before he abruptly turned to glared at her, fire blazing behind his eyes. "What are you talking about?! She's never going to speak to me again now, because of _you!"_

Judy frowned at him, confused. "So what?"

"SO?" Nick laughed in disbelief, paws shaking slightly. "So?! So...you ruin everything, that's what!" With that, Nick fell to the ground, huffing angrily as he picked a stray apple off the ground and threw it as far as he could.

It landed against the side of the manor with a loud smack, and Nick followed up the action by throwing a second apple, and then a third.

Judy thought for a moment, watching as he threw apple after apple. "Well, you're marrying me, not that other girl, so you shouldn't kiss her. Otherwise, you might get in trouble, and the guards would come bring you to jail. So really, I was helping you." She finished her declaration with a proud nod, as if she was sure that there was no way for Nick to refute it.

He did anyway.

"I'm not marrying a kid," Nick snarled, yanking an apple off the ground and taking an angry bite out of it. "And you can't go to jail for kissing people."

"Yes you can, and yes you are, because we're _bethrowed."_

"Betrothed."

"That's what I said!"

"No it isn't—you know what, Fluff? Never mind. I don't like you and I don't want to marry you."

Judy glared angrily at him and crossed her arms, a storm of strange emotions rushing through her all at once. This wasn't news to her, after all, she didn't want to get married either. She didn't care if Nick liked her or not, because she was pretty sure that she didn't like him. And yet, hearing Nick snap at her like this…she couldn't help but feel really bad. She didn't mean to upset him, but really, why couldn't they even _try_ to be friends? She was trying!

She tried to think of a proper or coherent retort to make him understand, to make him not angry anymore, but her mind felt empty. "Well…I don't want to marry you either," she finally said crossly, plopping onto the ground next to him. "You're mean!"

"You're annoying." Nick snapped.

"You're dumb!"

"You're stupid."

"You stink!"

"You're psychotic."

"That's not even a real word!"

Nick rolled his eyes up to the sky and muttered some word Judy didn't know yet but she assumed was a curse word.

"None of the girls in town even want to talk to me when they find out I'm engaged to _you!"_ He exclaimed, finally looking her right in the eye. _"_ And finally, _finally,_ I meet someone who doesn't know about the stupid Unity Proclamation, and you have to go and ruin it!"

"Well, those girls are…are…"

"What?" He scoffed, "Dummies? Babies? Knuckleheads?"

Judy frowned. "...Yes."

Nick shook his head, taking another bitter bite out of his apple. "You're such a baby," he muttered.

"And you're such a...bad person!" Judy replied. "Why do you like that girl so much anyway? If she really cared about you, she wouldn't have laughed at you. Or left you."

Nick opened his mouth to reply, but feel silent.

"You know I'm right," Judy said in a sing-songy voice, plucking her own apple off the ground and taking a bite.

Nick scowled. "It doesn't matter. She still left because you showed up. If you hadn't burst in on us —"

"Then you'd be in jail right now."

"I already told you, Fluff, you can't go to jail for kissing!"

"You can go for lying!"

"You literally can't."

"My brothers said I would go to jail for lying!"

"Then they were lying."

Judy paused, eyes widening as realization set in. "So they were lying about lying?"

"Yes."

Judy was shocked, and very upset. She would have to make sure that she told off Henry and James later. But for now… "Well, I'm sorry I hurt your feelings, but you shouldn't be lying! I was doing the right thing!"

"The right thing," The fox scoffed. "Like forcing two mammals to do something against their will is the right thing."

Judy hesitated. "…I'm not sure about that."

Nick just shook his head as he finished his apple. "It doesn't matter, anyway. The moment I turn 18 I'm going to be out of here."

The little bunny him a confused look. "Why?"

"I'm going away to university, and then I have training with my dad. Gotta learn how to do government, or whatever."

Judy didn't know whether this was good or bad news. "Oh."

"And do you wanna know why I'm most excited to go?" Nick asked, tossing his apple core aside as he stood up.

Judy's ears perked up as she watched him. "Why?"

His eyes narrowed. "Because I'll be a million miles away from you."

He walked off after that, leaving Judy sitting alone in the shade of the tree. She could feel her heart sinking, then hardening. It was all so frustrating. On one hand, she wanted to make her parents happy, she wanted to make Zootopia happy. But on the other, why was this the only way she could? It didn't seem very fair, especially when Nick was being such a butthead about it.

This was all giving her a headache. She sighed aloud, picked up a spare apple, and threw against the side of the manor, watching it burst with a satisfying _splat._

* * *

That evening, her mother came to tuck Judy, along with her 20 or so bunny plushes, into bed (a long process when you had over a hundred siblings). As her mother dimmed the lights and fluffed Judy's sheets, the little bunny couldn't help but try to voice her concerns.

"Do I have to get married?" Judy asked, looking up at her mother as she leaned down to stroke her forehead.

"Of course, bun bun," her mother replied, sitting down on the bed beside Judy, "You know that."

"Well, can I marry someone else? Nick is mean."

Her mother paused. "Has he done something to you, Judy?"

Judy hesitated. She didn't want to tattle on Nick's lying ways, that would probably only make things worse. "No…he just thinks he's so cool 'cause he's older. He teases me."

Mrs. Hopps smiled, gently rubbing her paw over Judy's cheek. "Don't worry my dear. He's still a kid, like you. I'm sure that by the time you come of age he'll be much nicer to you."

Judy looked doubtful. "Yeah, right."

"It's true!" The elder bunny insisted. "You know, your father and I were arranged to be married too, and we turned out just fine!"

"Really?"

"Mmm hmm," she replied with a nod. "Believe me dear, love is something that grows over time, something that finds you when you least expect it. And I promise — as you and Nick grow older, I know that it will find you too."

Judy still wasn't too sure, but perhaps her mother was right. She thought about this as her mother kissed her goodnight, as her mother left the room, a candle left flickering on the nightstand, and as Judy lay awake in bed on her side, restless, eyes turned to the window and examining the stars.


	6. Chapter 6

It was a late summer day in August when Nick left. The air was humid and muggy, and Judy felt that her frilly dress was far too frilly and far too dressy for the occasion. Why did she need to get so dressed up just to watch Nick leave? It's not like she was going to exactly miss him that much, or anything.

Over the past couple years, they'd stopped their bickering. Instead of days spent arguing and squabbling every time their parent's backs were turned, the fox and bunny had settled into a pattern of avoidance. They no longer talked and only spent time together when it was required of them.

 _So romantic,_ Judy scoffed mentally, shuffling her feet through the grass.

The sun was setting over the valley of Bunnyburrow, sinking behind the strolling fields as she watched as the household staff helped load Nick's suitcases into the carriage. Some of Nick's friends from school had come to wish him off, and the group was laughing and joking in a circle away from anyone else.

Judy stood beside her mother, watching as her parents said goodbye to Nick's parents and vice versa. As Judy was still only 10, she didn't care too much about all the details they exchanged before they parted. She was more focused on how pretty the sky looked, or how itchy her dress was.

When it finally came time for the Wildes to actually depart, Nick joined the adults and Judy by the carriage. Judy was planning on just a pawshake or even a goodbye-nod, but before she could hastily do so, her mother eagerly pushed Judy towards the young fox.

"Go on, sweetie, make sure you wish Nick goodbye," she smiled, patting Judy's head affectionately. "The next time you'll see each other, you'll be almost married!"

Judy held back a reluctant sigh and eyed Nick.

Nick eyed her right back.

She considered waving goodbye with a sarcastic, "So long, dumb fox!" but somehow, Judy didn't feel that expressing how happy she was to see Nick go was appropriate. So instead, she hopped up, gave him the obligatory 3-second hug, endured the 'aww's of the household staff (and the sarcastic ones of Nick's friends), and mumbled a hasty goodbye.

"Bye," Nick muttered.

It wasn't long after that he and his family boarded their carriage and parted, not to return for a good 7 years or so.

Judy had never felt more excited.

* * *

At first, it was weird living without Nick. His rowdy group of friends no longer kept her up at night. She didn't have to pose for those terribly long portrait painting sessions with him. There were no balls where she and Nick had to dance together and he would accidentally step on her big feet. She was done with constantly worrying about the future. Instead, she could focus on doing what she wanted to when she wanted to do it.

She took up a habit of reading. As a lady, she wasn't allowed to do all the things her brothers were, for some dumb reason, so she was forced to find adventures in the manor library. She read books on adventure and action, murder and mystery, romance and deception. She lived vicariously through the words she absorbed in her corner of the library, curled up on her favorite chair as the grandfather clock struck 1 am. While the other girls in her class spent time chasing after the boys in town, she found it far more interesting to study botany in the garden, book in one paw and a flower in the other.

When she turned 12, she finally struck up the nerve to venture outside the manor's gates. She'd never done this alone, always having been in the company of Nick, or her parents, or some of her countless siblings. So, upon her first time sneaking out, she felt an abundance of liberation. It was dusk, the sky was a deep indigo-purple, and the quick, excited chirps of the crickets seemed to mirror her own heartbeat.

She darted out through the front gate and down the valley, never stopping until she reached town, panting slightly.

As she was the daughter of one of the more prominent families in Zootopia, she made sure that the hood of her cloak concealed her face. No one seemed to recognize her as she began to explore the town, which was good. If she had to answer another question about what it was like to be marrying a fox, her head would have exploded.

She visited the sweet shops, the bookshop, the various carrot stands. It was nothing she hadn't seen before, but seeing it now, with her new sense of freedom, made it all seem so new and exciting.

But most exciting of all?

The Constabulary. They wore crisp uniforms as they practiced their patrols, marching through the town square in a strict formation. Each constable looked so noble, so daring. They'd all sworn to protect the people, to make a difference. The notion was inspiring to her, so much so she found herself following them on their way back to the station, completely in awe. She hid behind some bushes as they came to a stop before the station, the little bunny suddenly recognizing one of her older cousins amongst the officers.

 _So a bunny could do it,_ she mused, chewing on the lower edge of her mouth.

The head of the Constabulary spoke some words before he dismissed the officers, allowing them to either return home or embark onto their nightly patrols. It was just like those games of Guards Judy had always loved to play when she was little, only even better, because it wasn't just a game. She wanted to help others, and this seemed like her best option to do so.

As the constables separated, Judy darted out from the bushes she hid behind and approached her cousin. "Jacob!"

The elder bunny frowned at the sound before turning to see Judy dashing up to him, eyes widening at the sight. "Judith?" He asked, incredulous, "What are you doing here?" He glanced around before pulling her off to the side, away from the other departing officers.

"I wanted to watch you guys!" Judy chirped, smiling up at him.

"It's late!" He chided, "What are you doing out here all alone?"

"I…uh…I was running some errands?" Judy offered sheepishly.

He eyed her. "You're what, 11? 12? What errands could you possibly have?"

"How did you become a constable?" Judy asked instead, changing the subject abruptly.

"Who wants to know?"

"I do! That's why I asked."

Jacob gave her a wary look. "Well, usually you just have to volunteer. You need to be qualified, though, and participate in training with the rest of us."

"What do you do?"

"In training?"

"No, when you become a constable!"

"Well, we apprehend anyone who commits a crime and bring them before a judge. We don't do any investigations or anything like that. But we keep people safe, essentially."

"So you help people?"

He shrugged. "Yes."

Judy beamed excitedly. "I want to become a constable!"

Jacob laughed. "Alright, Judith. I think it's about time I get you home. Your mother is going to kill me."

"I'm serious!" Judy frowned, squirming as he grabbed her arm and started leading her back into town. "I don't want to grow up and get married! I want to make a difference!"

"You will make a difference, just in a different way."

"You sound like Mom," Judy grumbled.

Jacob pulled her to a stop, pausing to look her right in the eye. "You got to start thinking with your head, Judith. I know you're still a kid, but…these are tough times. We really need this."

Judy looked up at him, confused. "What do you mean? What's going on?"

Jacob hesitated before pulling away, leading her along on the path home once more. "Nothing. You just gotta listen to your parents, that's all."

Judy wasn't so sure. In fact, the more she was told to just sit quietly and do what she was told, the less she wanted to do it.

All in all, she learned a lot of things that night, mainly being that her mother was very angry that she'd left and had an uncanny ability to yell at decibels Judy never knew existed.

But secondly, she learned that she wasn't to be deterred. Finally, after years of being pushed along the path of life, she was going to chart her own way. She was going to write her own story, do what she wanted, and she wasn't going to let anyone stop her.

* * *

As she grew older, Judy didn't care much for the boys in her town, bunnies or other mammals alike. Unlike Nick, she had no desire to flirt as much as she could before the wedding.

Instead, she practiced. Practiced her combat, her knowledge of the law, and her marches. Most nights, while the rest of her family was asleep, she set up targets in the carrot fields so she could practice apprehending suspects. She read even more books than usual, books on how to tell when someone wasn't being truthful or how to deal with stressful situations.

And yet, as she grew stronger physically and mentally, she still didn't have the heart to tell her parents or anyone for that matter. Her mother was too preoccupied with her other siblings and planning for the future, and besides, Judy knew she wouldn't be happy with her aspirations.

So she let time pass, learning how to properly drink and serve tea by day, and practicing pinning down uncooperative criminals by night. She continued to sneak down to the Constabulary station, watching their training and taking notes.

For a while, it was easy to hide it, to pretend that she didn't mind having to live this sort of double-life. But as she grew older, it began to take its toll, she didn't want to lie like this, and before long she wanted nothing more than to come clean to her family, to get them to understand.

That's what led her to finally speak up. She was 16, and her family was eating dinner, though Judy found herself not very hungry. She set her fork down and cleared her throat, causing her mother to look up at her from where she sat, directly across from Judy. "Yes, dear?"

"Oh, well, I was just going to say that cousin John joined the Constabulary recently. He works with Jacob now."

"That's very honorable," her mother nodded, carefully slicing the carrots on her plate. "We're all very proud of him."

"Of course!" Judy continued, voice shaking slightly. "I-It's a very noble position. That's why I was considering…ah…joining them myself."

Silence hit the room with the drops of several forks, mostly from her siblings, but most noticeably from her mother. Lady Hopps was looking at her, eyes wide, before quickly turning to give her husband a nudge.

Her father gave a nervous cough as he began to stutter helplessly. "Wh-what are you going on about now, Jude?"

Judy took a deep breath before speaking boldly. "I want to be a constable."

Her mother looked alarmed. "Are you joking, dear?"

"No, I'm not. I've been training and reading, and I really think I can do it! I have to be of age to volunteer, but I really —"

"Stop!" Her mother exclaimed, holding up a paw. "Please, just stop with this nonsense!"

"Ladies can't be constables," her father said, placing a paw over her mother's back. "It's much too dangerous! They didn't even let bunnies in for awhile."

"You're a lady!" Her mother snapped bitterly, looking distraught. "And you're too flighty for your own good! I know you're not happy about the situation, but—"

"I don't want to be a lady!" Judy snapped back, balling her fists under the table. "I don't want to just sit around for the rest of my life and have children! I want to make a difference!"

Her mother looked shocked to have been interrupted. Her siblings had started to slink away once the arguing had started, and at this, the rest of them completely cleared out.

The dining room was silent for several minutes as Judy's mother collected herself, fuming silently before speaking. "You will make a difference," Lady Hopps said slowly, "by being a respectable role model for the people."

Judy frowned, ears drooping. "But that's not what I want, Mom!"

"And what about what the people want? Or what Nick wants? Do you think he'd want a wife who'd be running around town at night, acting foolishly?"

To be truthful, Judy hadn't thought of Nick in some time. She hadn't even considered what he'd think of the whole situation. Remembering their previous interactions, she imagined he'd probably mock her by calling her a dumb baby bunny, or something else in the like.

"Exactly," her mother continued, noting Judy's silence. "I know you're not happy about the situation dear, but you have to know that we only want what's best for you. We love you, sweetheart, but we also love Zootopia. You want everyone to be safe, don't you?"

"Yes!" Judy insisted. "That's why I want to be a constable!"

"Well, there's other ways of helping people," Her mother said sternly. "There's things going on…things you don't know about yet."

"Like what?" Judy asked.

Her mother hesitated and glanced at her father, who looked just as hesitant. "We didn't want to tell you," her father said slowly. "We didn't want to trouble you, Jude."

"Please, just tell me," Judy pleaded, "I'm old enough now. I want to know why you're making me do this."

Her parents exchanged more glances before nodding slowly to each other. "Alright," her mother began, voice heavy. "I suppose you're old enough to know."

"There's been a recent…ah…unrest amongst certain predators," her father began, "They feel as if they're not getting treated equally by prey. There aren't many predators who are lords or members of our government."

"But there aren't as many predators here to begin with," Her mother defended, "We outnumber them 10 to 1. So it's not very reasonable to have this much discontent."

"Anyway," her father continued. "A small group of predators has formed. They're threatening an uprising if something doesn't change. We've been on the brink of war in the past, and now we're worried that it's happening again."

"That's why we need this marriage," her mother explained, "If Nick becomes a leading member of the government, let alone marries someone of a prominent family, we're hoping they'll see that we want to treat them equally."

"But why me?" Judy asked. "Why not one of my sisters?"

"You're already betrothed," her father replied, "We can't change it now. And back when you were born, you were the only one of your siblings who was available. All your older sisters were already arranged to other bucks."

"You were the first girl we'd had in a while," her mother said light-heartedly. "Your father was pleased, but between you and me I was hoping for a daughter after so many sons."

Judy couldn't bring herself to laugh. However, she did find that she was less angry than she was earlier. Hearing this news brought light to the confusion she'd been living with for years. However, she wasn't sure that it was the light she'd been searching for. Knowing that the peace of the land was riding on her shoulders was more than a heavy piece of information.

"So you understand why this is so important now, don't you, bun bun?" Her mother asked, reaching out across the table to hold her daughter's paw. "We need this, Zootopia needs this. So please, stop with this Constabulary talk. We need you here."

Judy sighed resignedly. "I understand, Mom."

"Promise me you won't cause trouble with this."

"I promise."

"Good," Her mother said, giving her paw a squeeze and smiling warmly. "Now, let's go get your siblings back in here. They all took off before we even got to the carrot cake!"

Judy smiled a small smile.

* * *

A little over a year later, on a warm spring morning, Judy was snuggled peacefully in her bed. She was dreaming about something fantastical, a dream in which she was flying over Zootopia, right up in the sky with the birds and the trees, when she was abruptly awoken by the loud and sudden screech of her mother.

 _"JUDITH!"_

"YES!" Judy exclaimed, jolting upright in her bed, eyes half-open. "I'm up!"

"Rise and shine, dear!" Lady Hopps trilled, rushing over to Judy's bedroom window and pushing the curtains aside. "You have to start getting ready!"

"For what?" Judy mumbled, rubbing at her eyes. Was she still dreaming? The harsh and bright light that rushed in from her window told her no.

"Your fiancé, of course! Nicholas is returning today!"

 _"Oh no,"_ Judy groaned, rolling over to flop down on her downy pillows face-first. "Not that fox." While she may have submitted to the idea that getting married would be a help to the people, she didn't know if she'd ever come around to that rude, snarky, cheating fox.

"Yes, that fox!" Her mother chided, clicking her tongue slightly, "The one you're betrothed to, and the one who will be in our courtyard in less than an hour! We haven't any time to waste!"

"Really? Because this feels like a big waste of time to me," Judy grumbled into her pillow.

"That's not funny."

"I dunno, I thought it was."

Her mother yanked the blankets off Judy's bed and pulled her daughter up and onto her feet. "Enough joking around, dear! We've got to get you looking presentable!"

Judy yawned.

As if on cue, a flurry of handmaidens rushed into her room, tugging on Judy from all different directions and yanking off her nightgown quickly.

"Ouch!" Judy yelped. They continued without hesitation. The bunnies brushed her fur until it was slickly flat, spritzed her with perfume until she coughed, and laced her corset until she couldn't breathe.

"Is all of this really necessary? I mean, why do I have to wear this thing?" Judy choked, looking in disdain at her corset in the mirror. "I can't move!"

"It gives you a flattering figure!" Her mother insisted, helping one of the handmaidens pick out a dress for her to wear.

"It's giving me lacerations!" Judy gasped.

"You'll get used to it, dear," her mother assured her. She motioned for the handmaidens to continue, and they proceeded to drop a violet sea of fabric over her head.

"That's what you said about Nick," Judy mumbled through the violet, "And I still don't like him."

"You haven't seen him in 7 years," her mother replied as the handmaidens yanked the dress past her head and began lacing it up. "That's a long time. I'm sure he's changed a lot."

"For my sanity, I hope so," Judy sighed, wincing as the dress was laced to be just as tight as the corset. She still didn't feel too sure, though perhaps her mother was right. She felt as if she had changed, after all. She was no longer a bumbling kit with a slight rebellious streak, but someone who was almost ready to be a leader. Perhaps Nick had changed as well, maybe he really was different.

Perhaps she'd also sprout wings and fly like she did in her dream.

She tried to ignore the butterflies growing in her stomach as the hour drained away. The handmaidens added some finishing touches (more perfume, a pearl necklace, assurances that she looked 'splendid!') and escorted her out of her room. As they headed out towards the courtyard to meet the rest of her family, the sun rising over the edge of the horizon, she tried to ignore the butterflies as they grew larger and larger. Why was she nervous? She shouldn't be nervous, nor excited to see Nick again.

She told herself it was dread as his carriage rounded the nearest hill and approached the manor.

"Alright, it's time!" Her mother said excitedly, making sure that Judy was standing up straight. "Smile, dear!"

Judy grimaced.

The carriage pulled in through the front gates, coming to a stop in the courtyard. One of the handmaidens rushed forward to get the door for Nick's mother, who emerged first. Her parents stepped closer to greet the vixen, shaking paws and exchanging excited greetings. Judy gave a hasty 'hello' as well, but kept her eyes on the carriage, standing on tiptoe to get a better view. Where was he? Was he even in there?

As if to answer her, a silhouette suddenly emerged from the carriage, stepping out into the morning sun, sunlight shining off red and cream fur.

Judy wasn't one to gawk, but she found she couldn't stop her eyes from widening, because, _sweet cheese and crackers —_

He was definitely different.


	7. Chapter 7

_She was definitely different._

It was the first thought that hit him when the carriage rolled up and over the hill towards the manor. He could see her waiting in the courtyard, surrounded by the usual bunny crew. It had taken him a minute to actually recognize the little gray bunny as Judy, considering the huge amount of different-ness.

For one, she was no longer one foot tall. While she was still short, she had to have at least doubled in height, and shrunk in other places. Maybe too much so, in fact. Her waist seemed unnaturally tiny compared to her hips, and by the way she was constantly stretching at her sides, he figured it had to be due to a corset of sorts.

 _Poor dumb bunny._

She jittered even more as the carriage rolled in through the front gates, and just by watching her Nick could feel himself getting nervous. Which was ridiculous, because there was no reason he should be nervous about reuniting with his former childhood-enemy-turned-fiancé.

Nevertheless, he too felt slight jittery as he turned his head away from the window of the carriage.

His mother, seated across from him, examined his face closely. "Are you ready?" She asked, noting his nervous demeanor.

Nick turned his attention away from the courtyard as the carriage began to slow. "I guess so," he said lightly, fidgeting with the buttons on his jacket.

His mother gave him a warm smile as she licked her paw and leaned forward to brush down a stray strand of fur on his cheek. "You're doing a great thing for the land, you know," his mother assured him, cupping his cheek gently. "Especially for predators. Your father would have been very proud of you."

Nick felt his heart lurch at the mention of his father. Even though it had been 3 years since his passing, it never failed to hurt. And ever since his death, Nick was only more driven to honor his father's wishes. And if that meant putting up with a 2-foot tall pipsqueak, then so be it.

"I really hope so," he replied to his mother, gently placing his paw to rest over the one his mother had on his cheek.

" _I'm_ proud of you," his mother beamed as the carriage pulled to a stop. She pulled away, sat back in her seat, and adjusted her skirts. "Now, remember to smile! And remember your manners! Do you know how many letters I got from your tutors when you were away? Always mouthing-off…"

"I never 'mouthed-off,'" Nick scoffed playfully. "I prefer to see it as…being conversational."

His mother gave him a look.

"I promise to be civil," he lamented, slouching back in his seat. "Mostly," he added with a wink.

His mother gave him one last look before the carriage doors opened and she stepped out to greet the Hopps household. Nick adjusted his blue suit one last time, licked his chops, brushed down his fur, and exited the carriage.

As he stepped out, the sun shone in his eyes, blinding him for a moment. When his feet hit the courtyard ground, he managed to stop blinking enough to make eye contact with Judy, who was currently gaping at him. Literally _gaping,_ eyes wide, mouth open, the whole shebang.

 _Okay then._

She seemed to notice the wary gaze Nick gave her as she quickly closed her mouth and stood up straighter, feigning indifference.

As Nick approached Judy, he couldn't help but examine her more closely. She was pretty nice-looking, he guessed. Her hips had filled out, but it was hard to tell how much so with her corset on. Her ears were still huge, but she was a bunny after all, so that was to be expected. Overall, not terrible-looking, but Nick would have been lying if he said he was instantly love-struck by the sight of her.

He could see Judy hold her breath as he came to a stop in front of her. He had to avert his gaze slightly lower to make eye contact with her, as the top of her head only reached the top of his chest.

Judy, stilling holding her breath, held out her paw to him, face set in an emotion Nick couldn't quite read.

The whole audience of bunnies seemed to hold their breaths with Judy, all eyes locked on the fox and bunny, waiting in anticipation for the reunification of their favorite betrothed couple.

And so, with what felt like the whole world watching, Nick opened his mouth to deliver the most romantic, eloquent introduction of all time:

"Hey," Nick said casually.

Judy eyed him.

His mother glared at him.

"I mean…" Nick cleared his throat and leaned down to kiss her paw. "Good day, Miss Hopps. It's a pleasure to make your re-acquaintance."

The staff let out an audible sigh as they fawned over the couple, completely enamored by the situation.

Judy looked slightly less so. "All the same to you, Nicholas," She replied stiffly, voice far less squeaky than he remembered. It sounded nice-ish, he supposed. But by the way she was still eyeing him, he guessed that the way she felt about him was slightly less nice.

"Let's adjourn to the dining hall for refreshments!" Lady Hopps offered, ushering Nick's mother inside. "Our staff has spent all morning preparing a lovely brunch for you all!"

"Let me guess; carrot omelets with a side of a carrot salad and a fresh glass of carrot juice?" Nick mumbled, low enough for only Judy to hear.

Judy didn't seem to find his quip charming, as she simply tilted her head up and walked into the manor with a refined air that was very unfamiliar coming from her.

At least it was better than yelling at him, or something.

Sort of.

* * *

The dining hall was louder than usual as the two families reconnected. Her parents were talking with Lady Wilde (Judy couldn't help but notice that Nick's father was absent, though she didn't know why) while her brothers conversed excitedly with Nick, eager to hear all about his adventures and travels while he was away.

And adventures did he have. He told them all with an excited glint in his eye and voice laden with dramatic theatrics, paws often moving through the air for emphasis. He was so full of it, in Judy's opinion, though deep down she knew that part of her resentment was due to her envy of his adventures.

Nevertheless, even some of her sisters seemed charmed by the fox, she could see them whispering to each other and giggling into their paws. Some of them even threw Judy envious glances, though Judy couldn't think of any reason why. They could have him, as far as she was concerned.

Nick was seated across from her, recounting tales of how he'd learned to sail trade ships and actually steered one out of a perilous thunderstorm on one occasion. Judy listened idly as she picked at her carrot quiche with a fork, only mildly impressed. So, sure, he had grown into his ears a bit, and was taller, and was overall nicer-looking, but that didn't change how she felt about him. He could sail all the ships he wanted, Judy wasn't in love with him. The only reason she was going through with this was because it would help her people.

"So Judith," her mother suddenly chimed in, noticing her daughter's perturbed pout, "Why don't you tell Nicholas about the carrot festival coming up?"

"Oh please, call me Nick," Nick interjected with a cheeky grin, "I mean, we're almost family, aren't we?"

"Almost," Judy's father nodded, watching Nick carefully. "Soon my lil' bun-bun will be all grown up, moving off to run her own household…have kits…" As he went on, his eyes grew slightly wider and wider as his voice grew tighter and tighter, and eventually Lady Hopps had to butt in and place a paw on her husband's back.

"I think what my husband means to say is that we're very excited for the wedding," she said, giving him a stern look. "And a little nervous. It never gets any easier to say goodbye to one of our own."

Lady Wilde nodded, paws clasped around a bunny-sized tea cup that was just a little too small for her. "I understand completely."

"Well, there's nothing to fear sir," Nick jested to Judy's father. "I promise I'll take perfect care of your lil' bun-bun."

Her siblings laughed as Judy glared at him. "I don't need to be taken care of," she said through a tight smile. "I'm perfectly capable of handling myself."

Her mother gave Judy a warning look. "I think what Nick means to say is that he's going to be a splendid husband."

"There's nothing wrong with being taken care of," her father added, "Especially with an… _excited_ spirit like yours, Judy."

Judy frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well," Sir Hopps cleared his throat and muttered, "The whole… _constable_ incident, for one."

Nick raised an eyebrow. "What incident?"

"It's nothing!" Lady Hopps answered, directing her warning look to her husband once more. "We're very happy to have you here, both of you, now, let's move on please—"

"May I be excused from the table?" Judy asked quickly, foot starting to thump impatiently. _"Please."_

"But you hardly touched your plate!" Her mother frowned, gesturing to her barely-eaten carrot quiche.

"I'm not very hungry," Judy replied, "In fact…I…uh…feel rather ill." She placed a paw over her stomach for emphasis. "I think it'd be best if I just leave."

Her mother looked doubtful, but nodded, excusing Judy from the table. She departed quickly, grabbing her oversized skirt and darting out of the dining room. As she dashed through the halls and towards her bedroom, she couldn't help but feel an overwhelming amount of distress.

This had been a mistake. She clearly wasn't ready to be married, especially not to Nick. This was too much pressure! The entire land was riding on the fact that she was going to spend the rest of her life stuck in some stuffy manor, having kits and doting upon someone else! It wasn't fair! Why did Nick get to go on all these adventures? Why were her brothers and cousins allowed to do whatever they pleased, enroll in whatever profession they wanted, and all without judgment?

She stopped at her bedroom door and leaned up against the wall, panting slightly. Her head was spinning and her heart felt like it was being torn in a million different directions. Before today, she thought that she could do this, that she would be able to marry someone she didn't love to make her people happy.

But now….

She was still panting, and in frustration she tried to loosen her dress, paws scrambling at the laces on her back that were starting to feel more and more like a choking vise.

"Need a little help there?"

Judy paused and looked up to see Nick eyeing her. So he'd followed her. Great.

"I'm perfectly fine, thank you," she replied, standing up straighter.

"So you always claw at your own clothing like that?" Nick smirked wryly.

"Can you just…go away?" Judy huffed, turning to open her bedroom door. "I didn't ask for your help."

"I was trying to be nice!"

"Since when?"

"Since you ran off, claiming to be 'sick,' which I'm starting to think wasn't even true…"

"Well, our parents aren't here right now, so you don't have to pretend to be nice to me."

"I'm not pretending. I'm actually trying here, ya' know?"

Judy turned away from the door to look at him, incredulous. "Why? Aren't you upset? Aren't you _frustrated?"_

Nick shrugged. "I guess. I mean, no offense, but marrying you isn't going to be a picnic, that's for sure."

Judy glared at him. "Nice. Real nice, Nick."

"It's true!" Nick said defensively. "Ever since I got here you've been glaring at me like something you found in a gutter!"

"Oh, and you've been perfect!" Judy replied sarcastically. "'Hey?!' Really? You went away for almost a decade and all they taught you was 'hey!?'"

"You know that's not all they taught me, Fluff," Nick said dismissively, examining his claws. "I saw the way you were eyeing me at dinner. If I didn't know better I'd say you were jealous."

"I'm not jealous!" Judy said a little too quickly, crossing her arms. "You just brag too much!"

"Uh huh," Nick smirked. "Whatever you say, Carrots."

"Don't call me Carrots."

"Sorry, Fluff."

"Don't call me that either!"

"Greatest apologies!" Nick lamented dramatically, adding a bow for extra effect, "…. _Bun-bun."_

Her nose started to twitch rapidly as her fists balled tightly and her ears flattened against her head. "You're… _impossible!"_ Judy snapped, and with that, entered her bedroom and slammed the door shut.

* * *

 **[A/N]:** What an angry lil' bunny! :D

Once again, thanks for commenting and leaving kudos! You readers are amazing and every review makes my day!


	8. Chapter 8

**[A/N]:** So this fic has officially moved up to the T rating! Don't worry, it's nothing crazy, but I just wanted to be safe after what goes down in this chapter!

* * *

In order to prepare for married life, there were lessons.

Yes, _lessons,_ meaning Judy and Nick were ordered to sit at a table in the manor's study for the majority of their mornings and afternoons. They were trapped in front of a dusty, chalky blackboard, learning about how to run a manor, how to hire a staff, how to coordinate their outfits for dinner parties, or how to modify their family crest, among other _thrilling_ topics.

While it was all rather (extremely) silly, Judy had never been one to do badly in school, and she wasn't going to start now. She took notes feverishly, making sure to remember everything, no matter how silly or ridiculous. She wanted to prove to herself and to her betrothed that she was superior in some way; this seemed like the easiest way to do so.

Nick, on the other hand, was not as enthusiastic. He spent most meetings lounged back in his seat, doodling something on the corner of his parchment or making silly faces at her.

Judy wasn't amused.

"Can you focus?" She hissed one afternoon. Their instructor was Miss Hufflethump, a stuffy-looking elder bunny with a dress that seemed to drape over her rather than fit her. She had turned her back to the two, scribbling something on the slate blackboard, which had given Judy the opportunity to snap at Nick.

"I am focusing," Nick whispered back, smirking smugly. "I made a paper crane. Trust me, it required a lot of focus, Fluff."

Judy's eyes narrowed. "A paper crane?"

Nick gave a gentle push to the piece of parchment he'd folded into a bird. It slid across their shared desk and came to a stop before Judy's incredulous glare.

"You're welcome," he winked.

"You're so immature!" Judy whispered back harshly. "We're supposed to pay attention! This stuff is important!" Okay, so the last sentence may or may not have been true, but it didn't matter — she was trying to prove a point.

"No it's not," Nick snorted dismissively, turning his attention to another piece of parchment.

"If it wasn't important, then we wouldn't be learning about it," Judy countered, though the phrase felt like it was more to reassure herself than to argue with him.

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that," Nick muttered, rolling his eyes.

"Oh, really?"

"Yes, really!"

Okay, now he was just _asking_ her to prove him wrong. Judy's paw darted up directly into the air, a determined frown on her muzzle. "Miss Hufflethump!"

Nick snorted at 'Hufflethump,' like he always did.

"Yes, dear?" The elder bunny asked, turning around to look at her.

"Will we be tested on this information?" Judy asked.

Her instructor eyed her, puzzled. "No?"

Nick snickered.

Judy kicked him under the table.

"There's no test!" Miss Hufflethump said sternly, pushing up her dainty glasses. Evidently she hadn't seen Judy kick Nick. "You're going to be married within a year! This is all directly applicatory information!"

"That's what I keep trying to tell her, Miss Hufflethump," Nick said. In the time between Judy asking her question and the instructor turning around, he had sat up straight, ears perked with feigned attention. "But you know, she just won't listen! You would think with such big ears…"

Said ears flattened against Judy's head. "You insufferable, ignorant, _stupid—"_

"Enough, you two!" Miss Hufflethump snapped, glaring crossly at the two. "Stop your bickering! Now, let's return to our discussion for today; how to throw a celebratory brunch for your relatives!"

"How enlightening," Nick mumbled.

Judy kicked him again.

* * *

The rest of their lessons went just as well. They would bicker through every dance class, every mannerisms lesson, every conflict resolution workshop (the last of which was highly ironic).

"Are you sure you two aren't already married?" Their dance instructor had joked once.

Neither of the two were amused by this and continued to step on each other's feet out of spite, just to prove that no, they weren't.

While the two managed to remain civil in front of their parents, the instructors were bound to tip them off eventually.

And they did.

"I thought you promised you wouldn't make a fuss over this!" Her mother lamented one evening. Judy was walking through the library nonchalantly, pretending like she wasn't being berated for 'accidentally' spilling an inkwell on Nick's lap.

"I didn't make a fuss," Judy replied, flipping open a random book — _The History of Geology_. "It really was an accident." Okay, so that may or may not have been true. But Nick had deserved it! Nick had spent all of Miss Hufflethump's lesson drawing mocking pictures of her. Doodles, really. Scribbles. Nick could go on and on about how he steered ships out of thunderstorms and how he was practically perfect in every way, but he definitely was no artist.

That didn't mean that his amateur doodles of Judy standing over a mountain of vegetables as the "Queen of Carrots," wasn't any less annoying.

Her mother grabbed the book from her paws and snapped it shut. "You _promised_ me, Judy. Don't forget about your responsibilities to our people."

"I know, I know," Judy sighed, pulling her ears down and over her eyes. "I'm sorry. I haven't forgotten, I just — Nick gets on my nerves! You should see the way he teases me!"

"You and your siblings tease all the time!"

"This is different!"

"How?"

"Nick is more…annoying about it."

Her mother eyed her. "Do you want me to talk to him?"

"No!" Judy replied instantly (and loudly). Her mother looked alarmed by the outburst, so Judy repeated herself once more. "No," she said, more calmly this time. The only thing worse than Nick's teasing would be Nick teasing her for whining and trying to get her mother to solve everything. Like she was 5, or something. That wasn't happening.

"Couples fight all the time, right?" Judy said reluctantly. "This is normal…I guess."

"Yes, but, if he's hurtful to you…"

"Mom, he's not!" Judy assured her, placing a paw on her mother's shoulder. "He's never hurt me, not like that. He's just irritating, that's all."

 _Very_ irritating.

Her mother looked relieved. "Well, that's good. But Judith, please try to keep your behavior in check. Even if he teases you. We must keep appearances, remember."

"Yes, mother," Judy replied, and even though it was with a groaning sigh, she did mean it. Nick was driving her up the wall, and marrying him still wasn't even on the list of things she wanted to do to him, but she did love her family and wanted to keep them happy and safe.

No matter what the cost.

* * *

Spring was steadily transitioning into summer, a rather insufferable one at that, and not just because of Nick (though that certainly was a factor). It was one of the hottest summers recorded in recent history, and Judy could hardly bear it.

She was perched by her bedroom window, exhausted after a long morning of lessons with Miss Hufflethump. The elder rabbit had a real fit with Judy today during a poise lesson. Nick and Judy had to practice good posture, as naturally, slouching even in the _slightest_ would mean the end of the entire world, the entire universe, even. After Judy failed on multiple occasions to keep a book balanced on her head, Miss Hufflethump had lost in, going on and on about how Judy needed to take this more seriously, like Nicholas.

It. Was. Ridiculous.

And of course, Nick had gotten a kick and a pat on the back out of the whole thing (even though it wasn't fair at all — everyone knew foxes' heads were flatter and had smaller ears than bunnies). It had taken every ounce of Judy's self-control to not go off on him again.

After such a strenuous start to the day, sitting by her big window and letting the faint summer breeze waft in was a welcome distraction for Judy. Though it still wasn't quite enough. It was just about high noon by now, and the sun was blaring down so intensely Judy felt as if she could almost feel the weight of it, breathing down her neck, causing little beads of sweat to form on her forehead. Her 1000-pound dress wasn't helping either. Something needed to be done.

The idea came to her on a hazy whim, one of the few coherent ideas she could form through this unbearable heat. She didn't have any activities scheduled until dinner in the evening, leaving her plenty of time to sneak away and cool off.

She made sure to tip-toe, as she didn't want to answer any prying questions as to where she was sneaking off to. She had to sneak past the servants, the staff, and just barely avoided her mother before she finally made it outside. Her destination? The Coney River, a small body of water less than a quarter mile from her home. The call of rushing water lured her out the front gates and around the back of the house, its cool relief beckoning her onward.

Judy ran down to the river giddily, cicadas humming and grass warming her feet. The stream was nestled at the bottom of a large hill, only a short walk from the manor. It led from the High Hills in the east and ran right into the western bay near town, but behind the manor, this area of the river was secluded, reserved only for the Hopps' family. She knew her mother wouldn't approve of her splashing around in river water, but when it was this hot out, Judy didn't really care about what her mother wouldn't like.

Glancing back and forth to make sure no one was nearby, she unlaced her dress quickly, leaving her only in her corset and drawers. Oh yes, her mother would certainly kill her if she saw her now. But once Judy hopped into the river, the last thing on her mind was whether or not she'd get in trouble for this. Instead, sweet relief. Cool, rushing, watery relief.

The stream wasn't terribly deep, only 3 feet, possibly 4 in some of the deeper parts, but as Judy herself was barely 2.5 feet, the water was more than enough to engulf her. She dunked her head under the water, relishing in the feeling of the water rushing past her, soaking her clothes, smoothing over every last strand of fur. Her body felt deliciously numb and buoyant as the river reeds tickled her legs. No thoughts about wedding preparations or pleasing her family. Underwater, the world was silent and she could just float endlessly.

It was heavenly.

Until she came up for air.

She burst up from the water to catch her breath, and within seconds was greeted with an all-too-familiar, incredibly irritating voice.

"Hiya Cottontail!" Nick called out, walking over to the stream casually, paws behind his back. He was missing his usual suit jacket and instead wore a loosely-buttoned undershirt with a pair of trousers. Apparently, the heat was getting to him too. "Looks like you had the same idea as me."

Judy's first reaction was anger. Had he _followed_ her?! He probably had. He was infuriating! However, her anger quickly evaporated into embarrassment. She was still only in her corset and undergarments! She was practically _naked!_

She masked her humiliation with a glare, dipping deeper into the water in an attempt to conceal herself. "What are you doing here?" She snapped, swimming back at he stepped closer. "Y-you need to leave!" She almost got away with not sounding nervous. Almost.

"It's a public waterway, Fluff," Nick snorted, eyes momentarily flickering to her crumbled up dress by the shore. "You don't own it."

"Well, we own the property! And this part of the river falls within our property line!" Judy huffed, growing more and more irritated by the minute.

"Well, we're about to be married, so I think that makes it _our_ property, wifey."

If she hadn't been in her undergarments, Judy definitely would have gotten up from the water and strangled him by now. "I am NOT your _'wifey'_!" she instead retorted hotly.

He shrugged and began to unbutton his undershirt. "Sure ya' are. My future bunny wifey."

Judy's eyes widened as she glanced away quickly at the first sight of cream fur. She hated herself for blushing. "You're insane," she said tightly, forcing herself to stare at the water as Nick tossed his shirt aside. "Like, mentally deranged."

"Maybe," Nick said nonchalantly, and with that, jumped right into the water, causing a splash so large it jostled Judy in the water. He couldn't have been more than 4 feet tall, so when he reemerged the water lapped around his upper chest. "I guess that'd make us perfect for each other, huh?"

Judy felt her cheeks grow even hotter as she continued to make a point of not looking directly at him. This was _wrong._ She wasn't supposed to see this much of him! They weren't married! She wasn't even sure she would even want to see him like this, even if they were.

Well, she had two choices. Either leave the river, not only letting him win but also possibly roasting to death, or she could stay and try to enjoy herself.

Considering she could still see waves of heat flickering over the hills of Bunnyburrow, she chose the latter.

Nick wasn't going to push her around anymore. He could tease her all he wanted, but she wasn't a little baby anymore.

So she continued to swim, though she made sure to keep her distance from him. It worked for a short while, Nick swam on his side and she swam on hers. She wasn't able to let her guard down completely, as she didn't want to accidentally flash too much of herself to Nick, but it was still nice to swim around the cool stream. She found herself incredibly self-conscious of the fact that he wasn't wearing his undershirt. As much as she didn't like him, she found herself glancing at him now and then, watching as he took long strides through the water.

Whatever. He looked pretty dumb, honestly, with his little head bobbing above the water. His fluffy, fat tail did too. It splashed around, making small waves as it bobbing up and out of the water lackadaisically. It was sort of cute.

And the moment that thought entered her mind, Judy felt herself grow even hotter because Nicholas Wilde was not cute in any way, shape, or form. He was annoying, cocky, and completely lacked a sense of humor. There was no way that she could possibly think any part of him was cute.

It was almost funny that just as she was thinking this, Nick stepped in to further prove her point. The moment her back was turned, she was splashed. And not just a little splash, but a big huge one, one that made water go up her nose and into her lungs and flipped her under the water and everything.

It took her a moment to register what had actually happened, as one minute she'd been swimming about, stewing silently, and the next she was tumbling head over tail under the water. But by the time she came up for air, she was greeted by Nick's loud laughter, and no further explanation was needed.

 _"NICK!"_ She snapped through a mouthful of water, coughing and sputtering as she wiped at her eyes. "I'm going to — _cough_ — KILL — _sputter_ —YOU!"

"You'll have to catch me first," Nick taunted, already making his way upstream.

He was so incredibly dumb. Like, the dumbest fox Judy had ever known. And yet, she found herself smiling as she pursued him, feeding off all the dumb laughs and fake cries for help he emitted as Judy pursued him. "Help!" He wailed as Judy approached him, though he could barely keep a straight face. His 'help' sounded more like a laugh than a legitimate cry of fear. "This bunny has gone savage! She's attacking me!"

Judy snorted as she finally caught up to him. She was panting slightly, even though she knew Nick had purposely swum a little bit slower than usual. Why did he want her to catch him? Didn't that ruin the whole point of the game?

Nevertheless, she wasn't going to back down from a challenge. Once she caught up to him, she gave her large bunny foot a swift and large thump, causing water to spray all over Nick.

"Hey!" The fox yelped, wiping at his eyes quickly.

"Gotcha!" Judy smirked, feeling satisfied.

"That you did, rabbit," Nick laughed, eyes twinkling with mischief. "But I kind of let you."

"No you didn't!" Judy protested (she knew he had).

Nick splashed her as a reply. That led into an all-out war between the two, splashing and kicking water at each other until they were both soaked and gasping for air. Judy found herself laughing, actually _laughing._ Was she…having _fun?_ With _Nick?_

They continued to splash each other in the water until Judy's chest hurt from laughing so hard and her arms were sore from flinging water around. She dunked her head under the water to avoid Nick's continued splashing, only resurfacing once she heard that he'd stopped.

She popped out of the water again, greeted by the sight of Nick looking down at her with a grin. "Wait a minute Carrots; is that a _smile_ on your face?"

"No!" Judy smiled, wringing water out of her ears and looking away. "You blind fox!"

"I'm pretty sure that's a smile, Fluff. Which means I actually made you laugh."

"You're crazy," Judy said flippantly, tossing her ears over her shoulder.

"I guess I'm not that bad," Nick smirked, leaning in closer to her. He was so much taller than ever. Judy had to crane her neck to make eye contact with him, gaze intent on avoiding the exposed creamy fur of his torso. "I, for one, can think of several people that would be worse to be betrothed to than me."

And there it was. That word, _betrothed._ It felt so heavy, so…weighed-down. Restricting. As she felt herself opening up to him, she found that it wasn't a welcoming feeling. Was she actually starting to like him? Or was her spirit just giving up, forcing herself to settle for a situation she still wasn't thrilled about?

Her conflicting emotions combined with his smirk was even worse. His admittedly charming smile had warped into that sly, teasing, vulpine grin that reminded her of every teasing for and every insult they ever shared. It all popped the moment and brought Judy back to reality. And the reality was that she was currently in the river with a half-naked fox, her drawers were soaked and clinging to her thighs, and she was angry again.

"I'm leaving," she replied suddenly, pulling away from him.

"Wait, what?" Nick's smirk melted and he frowned, trying to grab her arm. "What'd I do? I thought we were getting along, Carrots."

Judy yanked her arm out of his grasp. "We're not! We're being _forced_ to. Now just…leave me alone." She forced herself to ignore the look in his eye — was it disappointment? Frustration? She didn't want to find out. Hating Nick would be easier than dealing with the conflicting emotions swirling and tumbling in her gut.

Without another word, she pushed herself onto shore and redressed quickly, not looking back even when Nick called her name. Not Carrots, Fluff, Cottontail, Long-Ears, or any of the other stupid nicknames.

 _Judy._


	9. Chapter 9

Judy was tucked away in the shade of an apple tree, the same apple tree she'd practically grown up under. Her lessons were over for the day and she'd wanted to find a nice spot to read; this seemed like the perfect place. When she'd first approached it, she couldn't help but remember that this was the same tree Nick had kissed that vixen under when he was 16, then immediately hated herself for remembering that, let alone caring at all.

The heat had died down some over the past week, but it was still hot enough that Judy had 'accidentally' forgotten to wear her stockings today. As long as she didn't trip over anything in front of her mother, there wouldn't be a problem.

She was flipping through her book on European geography when Nick approached her. Unsurprisingly, he was lacking a proper suit jacket, per the norm. His fur was ruffled and his shirt was unkempt like he'd just exerted himself somehow. Not that Judy cared what he'd been up to because she didn't. She'd made a point of avoiding him ever since the river incident — her emotions were still too rattled from the whole thing.

Apparently, Judy not making eye contact with him or even acknowledging his presence wasn't enough to deter the fox, as he still started a conversation with her anyways.

"Whatcha readin'?" He asked casually, leaning up to pick an apple from a low-hanging branch.

Judy's fur bristled at the sound of his voice. It should have been illegal to have a voice like his — all confident and smooth and sly all at the same time. It wasn't fair. "A book."

" _'A book,'_ she says," Nick snorted. She heard him toss the apple in the air once before taking a bite. "What book?"

"A book book."

"Book book? I don't think I've heard of that one."

Judy quickly felt herself growing exasperated. "What do you want, Nick?"

The fox took another bite of his apple, continuing to speak with his muzzle full. "I'm trying to be nice here, bunny wifey."

Judy's eyes nearly bored a hole through her book, that's how hard she was trying to make a point of not looking at him, ignoring him. "Don't call me that. We're not married yet."

"So, can I call you that when we get married?"

"No!"

"Then when?"

"Never!"

"But you said —"

"I say shut your muzzle and let me read!"

Nick listened to her for once. It was shocking. He gave a defeated huff and shrugged, plopping down on the grass beside her — all in complete silence.

However, Judy quickly found that Nick not talking didn't make it any easier to read. Ever since their time at the river, she'd started to feel this… _physical_ reaction whenever he was around. Her cheeks would warm, her fur would bristle, and her arms and legs would tingle. She suddenly felt so nervous and self-conscious around him, though for the life of her she didn't know why.

Even right now, it was the same dilemma; having Nick sit only inches away from her made her heart pound and her cheeks flush. She found herself reading and rereading the same sentences over and over again, never actually absorbing any of the information.

"Can you sit somewhere else?" She finally asked, looking up at the fox beside her. That was a mistake. He made eye contact with her and suddenly her legs felt like jelly. Stupid legs. Stupid fox.

"But I like it here," He declared, gesturing up to the tree, "It's got shade and free food."

"Then go to the kitchen."

"There's always 10 million bunnies in the kitchen. Besides, I'm pretty sure that every time I go in alone they send a guard after me. Ya' know, after the whole carrot cake incident."

Judy frowned. "What incident?"

"Ah, c'mon, Fluff! Tell me you haven't forgotten!" Nick smiled, "I think I was 11, maybe 12. You were 4, and you got me to sneak into the kitchen with you after dinner. Your family had this huge carrot cake they were saving for dessert, and you—"

"Dug my paws right in," Judy finished for him, smiling softly at the memory. "I remember now!" She started to laugh before covering her mouth with a paw, ashamed. "You got in so much trouble though! All because of me!"

Nick shrugged. "It wasn't that bad. Besides, we were just kids. Really dumb kids."

Judy snorted. "Clearly! I don't know what I was thinking!" She reminisced on the moment, and with every passing second, the memory became funnier and funnier to her. "I still remember how you had frosting smeared all over your muzzle!" She giggled, glancing over at Nick. "You looked ridiculous!"

"Like you looked any better, Frosting-Paws," Nick teased, nudging her slightly.

Judy felt herself blush, though she was desperately trying to maintain an indifferent frown. "Well,…that was a long time ago. We're different now."

Nick eyed her as she returned her focus to her book. "Yeah…I guess we are. Even though we still fight like cats and dogs."

"That saying isn't even accurate," Judy mused, trying to find where she'd left off in her reading, "Cats and dogs don't even fight that much. I knew a cat and dog from school that were best friends."

"So, I guess we fight like foxes and bunnies," Nick corrected.

Judy laughed softly. "I guess so."

Nick finished off his apple and tossed the core aside. "So, how's your 'book book' coming along?" He asked, leaning his muzzle over her shoulder.

"Do you mind?" Judy bristled, holding the book closer to her and pulling back slightly. She tried to sound angry, but her indignation was ruined with the hint of another laugh. "I'm trying to read."

" _Lacus de Lausanne, otherwise known as Lac Léman, is one of Switzerland's most prestigious bodies of water,"_ Nick read over her shoulder.

"Stop!" Judy exclaimed, slamming her book shut. "You're so nosy!"

"At least I'm interesting."

"I'm interesting!"

Nick gave her a look. "You're literally reading a book about water."

"Lakes are interesting."

"But their books are boring."

"They're not boring!"

"Sorry, how about dull? Uninteresting? A complete snoozefest?"

"Well, if I'm boring, you're…exasperating," Judy huffed, giving him the best glare she could muster. "You're lucky we're betrothed because I don't see how any girl could put up with you!"

"Harsh words from such a small bunny," Nick replied dryly. "I was just speaking from the perspective of someone who's actually seen a lake. I can understand why it must be hard for you since most of you bunnies spend life underground."

"Hilarious. Real _charming,_ Nicholas _._ At least I don't _look_ like I live underground — which most bunnies _don't_ even do anymore. You look like a mess!"

"A mess?"

"Your fur is all scruffy, your pants are nearly worn through, and I'm pretty sure that's mud on your paws!"

Nick glanced down at himself. "Huh. So I am. I guess that's just a price to pay for adventuring."

Judy didn't look impressed and didn't reply.

" _'Gosh, Nick, what adventures?'_ " Nick said in a high-pitched voice that was apparently supposed to resemble Judy's. God, he was so dumb.

"I think you've talked enough about your time away," Judy said, unable to stop the slight edge of resentment from sneaking into her tone. "Considering you'll talk about your adventures to anyone who will stand there long enough."

"Okay, yup — you are definitely jealous."

"What!? I'm _not—"_

"And besides," Nick continued, ignoring her angry, sputtering protests. "This adventure is one that I had right here in Bunnyburrow."

Judy paused. "What?"

"Yup," Nick nodded. He pulled away from her and stood up, slipping his paws into his pockets. "But like you said, I've talked enough about that. I guess I should just keep it to myself."

Judy hesitated. "Well… _maybe_ I'd be interested, just this one time."

"Gosh, I dunno, Carrots," Nick said casually, stroking his muzzle as if he was in deep thought. "I don't think you like it. It's a bit too exciting for a cute little bunny like yourself."

Judy's eyes narrowed.

 _"Try me."_

* * *

"Are we almost there?" Judy asked. They'd been walking through the woods for what felt like _forever_ now, and Judy was starting to doubt Nick's intentions.

"Almost," Nick called back, walking several paces ahead of her.

"If this is some wild goose chase—"

"I promise ya' Fluff, it's not."

She knew they were getting higher up, as her legs were sore from walking up so many steep inclines. If she was still practicing her constable exercises, she was sure she would have aced this. But no, as of late, most of her days were spent sitting around.

Judy still didn't know where they were going. For a brief moment, she had a flash of fear. What if Nick was crazy? Like, _crazy_ crazy? What if he was leading her into some sort of twisted trap? Some sort of plot to get rid of her, so they wouldn't have to marry? Did anyone know where they were right now? There was a chance she might never be heard from again!

But then Judy remembered that this was Nick, the same Nick who'd had a contest with her brothers last night to see who could fit the most chocolate truffles in their mouths before gagging (Nick had won, of course).

The bunny shook her head at the recollection. It hadn't been a pretty sight, and it reminded her of who Nick was. A big, dumb, dork, for starters. He definitely wasn't a criminal mastermind. At least not one malicious enough to ever do harm to her.

"Alright, Cottontail, you ready for this?" Nick asked, stopping before a small clearing.

"I think I can handle a few more trees," Judy answered, giving him a perturbed look.

"Do you really think I'd bring you all the way up her for a couple pinecones?"

"You'd think it was funny."

"True, but this isn't one of those times, Rabbit. Now get over here."

Judy sighed as she walked up to him, coming to a stop when they were face-to-face. She cocked her head back to look at him. Her legs felt like jelly again, standing right in front of him, but she blamed it on how sore she was from hiking. "Alright fox, what did you want to show me?"

Nick stepped back and allowed Judy to enter into the clearing. And when she did, well, the bunny found she was at a lost for words.

They were at the top of a large hill, or cliff really, as there was a large drop in the clearing ahead. Vibrant wildflowers and tall grasses swayed in the gentle breeze, but that wasn't what caught Judy's eye.

In the center of the clearing was a large waterfall flowing off of the edge of the cliff, and it had completely captivated Judy. The waters weren't terribly rough or treacherous, but instead were sparkling and bubbling in the afternoon sunlight. It tumbled off into the abyss, where there were no trees, only endless blue sky. They were so high up that she could see the valleys and hills of Bunnyburrow stretched out for miles, sprawled out like a warm green and golden quilt.

"Nick, this is amazing!" Judy beamed, gazing at her surroundings in awe.

"I'm surprised you didn't know this was up here," Nick commented, walking over to stand beside her. "You've lived here the longest."

"Yes, but it's not like I was exactly allowed to wander through the woods alone," Judy reminded him. "I'd always seen it from a distance, but I never imagined it'd be anything like this…how'd you find it?"

"I got bored," Nick said simply, like he always discovered stunning landmarks in his free time. "Thought it might interest you."

"I _love_ it!" Judy gushed, rushing forward to run her paws through the bubbling water. She almost made a joke that they only seemed to get along when water was involved, but then that would require admitting that they were getting along and that she didn't completely despise him, which she still wasn't ready for.

"You wanna go in?" Nick asked.

Judy eyed him. "Only if you keep your clothes on this time."

Nick held up a paw. "I promise."

And so, for the second time in the past 2 weeks, Judy found herself having fun with Nick. In a stream, no less. The water wasn't as deep here, only up to Judy's ankles, and the two had to make sure to avoid the edge, but it was still absurdly entertaining. They looked for landmarks below, like the Hopps' Manor, which looked like a small brown blob from up here. They fished for rocks in the stream — Judy found a few beautiful ones that were almost violet in color. By the time the were finished, the bottom of Judy's skirt was thoroughly soaked and muddied. Nick's trousers didn't look much better.

The two took a break to catch their breath, both feeling drained from their hike up here and their mischiefs in the stream. The two sat side-by-side in the grass near the edge of the clearing, listening to the birds singing and enjoying the picturesque view. They were silent for a few moments before Nick turned to her.

"So, do you have like a water fetish or something?"

Judy balked at him. "Excuse me?"

"Well, the only time you seem to tolerate me is when we're in a stream. And you were obsessing over your lake book earlier. I'm starting to see a disturbing trend here, Fluff."

"Don't be ridiculous," Judy huffed. "That book wasn't even a lake book. It had stuff about mountains and deserts and forests and caves."

"Okay, so a nature fetish."

Judy elbowed him. "Who said that I even like you?"

Nick whistled. "You, apparently. I just said that you were tolerating me right now. I didn't say anything about you liking me."

Judy felt her cheeks grow hot. "Well…I'm barely tolerating you," she blustered quickly. "So…you're not even right about that."

Nick just gave her a skeptical look. "Whatever ya' say, Carrots."

Judy avoided his gaze, turning her attention back to the view before them. "We're so high up!" She observed, still in awe of the whole place. "If my mom knew we were up here, she would kill me! Especially if she saw my dress; I'm pretty sure it's permanently ruined now."

Nick eyed her mud-caked skirt and shrugged. "My mom usually doesn't care what I do, as long as I don't 'mouth-off.'"

"Hmm, so she must care a lot," Judy said dryly, "Considering that's all you do."

"The bunny bites!" Nick chuckled. "What would your parents say?"

"What _wouldn't_ they?" Judy countered. "They always have something to say about what I'm doing."

"Good point."

Their conversation halted after that, though deep down Judy knew why. There was a single unanswered question left hanging in the air, stifling things between them. Judy had to admit she'd been curious about it ever since he'd returned, but she didn't know if she should question it. She still didn't. But, then again, it wouldn't make much sense for her to never find out…

"Nick?" Judy asked cautiously, "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure," Nick shrugged, picking at a few blades of grass.

"What happened to your father?"

Nick paused. "…No one told you?"

Judy flinched slightly, suddenly feeling extremely guilty. "I…I didn't ask. I'm sorry."

Nick just shook his head dismissively. For a moment, he was silent, and Judy couldn't help but notice that this was the quietest she'd ever seen him. He wasn't smirking, or fidgeting, or making his grand paw gestures. He just sat there, staring at the ground with eyes slightly unfocused and mouth in a tight line. "He passed," Nick finally said, voice low and even. "3 years ago. He got some kind of infection in his lungs — the doctors couldn't figure out what it was, and he just…he didn't make it."

Judy felt her heart drop right to her feet. Poor Nick! She couldn't even begin to imagine what'd it be like to lose her mother or father. "I'm so sorry, Nick," Judy said earnestly, placing a paw on his arm. "I really am. I can't imagine how hard that must have been for you!"

Nick eyed her paw on his arm before shifting away and clearing his throat. "It's fine. I mean, it's not, but it's been 3 years."

Judy wanted to say something. Something to make him feel better, to reassure him — but the words were swallowed in her throat. Instead, she gave him a gentle, genuine smile, hoping that would let him know that for the first time in their strained relationship, she was holding no resentment or judgment towards him. She understood.

"So, how about that view, huh?" Nick remarked, abruptly changing the subject. "It's really something."

Judy frowned, confused by his sudden change in demeanor, but then quickly caught on. He didn't want to go any deeper, not now, anyways. "Oh, uh, yeah! It's really nice. Thanks for taking me up here."

"Anytime, Fluff."

"Really? _Any_ time?"

"Yup."

"So, if I was to wake you up at 3 in the morning, you would take me up here?"

"Oh yeah, totally."

Judy snorted, unable to stop herself from giggling. "What if…there was blueberry pie for dessert? And there was only one slice left? Would you give it up to take me here?"

"Ouch!" Nick winced, clutching a paw over his heart. "The thought is killing me, Fluff! But, yes, yes I would."

"How loyal of you."

The two exchanged small smiles as the conversation died off after that, leaving them with nothing but the sound of rushing water and the wind swaying through the trees.

"We should probably head back," Judy finally said.

"Probably."

"But we won't?"

 _"Nah."_

Judy smiled and shook her head. "You're so dumb."

"You know you love it, sweetheart," Nick said offhandedly, suddenly searching around for something. " _The lady doth protest too much._ "

Judy laughed, half-impressed and half-indignant "Hamlet?"

"See? I know things," Nick said, turning to wink over his shoulder at her.

"If only you could know things all the time," Judy teased. "Because most of the time you're a dumb fox."

Nick didn't reply, still searching the grass until he finally found what he'd apparently had his sights on. "Aha!"

Judy peered over at him. "What?"

Nick turned back to her, a small, wispy dandelion in his paw. "For you."

Judy raised an eyebrow, giving him a doubting look. "A weed?"

"And you say _I'm_ the dumb one," Nick chided. He grabbed her paw and placed the dandelion in her grasp. "You're supposed to make wishes on these."

"Wishes? Like magic?"

"Yeah, like magic."

Judy rolled her eyes slightly. "But magic isn't…it's silly."

"Don't tell me you don't believe!" Nick gasped. Judy couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or not.

"I believe in hard work and determination," She replied, "Not sitting around and wishing for something to happen."

"Humor me."

"…Fine."

Judy sighed but closed her eyes, picturing what she wanted to wish for. Her first instinct was to wish that she wouldn't have to marry Nick, but that didn't seem quite right. She thought about wishing that predators and prey would just get along, but that didn't seem realistic. Then she was reminded that none of this was realistic to begin with, and that blowing on a weed wasn't going to solve anything, so it didn't really matter.

In all honesty, she felt as if she didn't have much to wish for. Her life was already set in stone, so as she'd gotten older she had eventually stopped wishing things would be different. Even if she didn't talk about it as much anymore, she would never forget the crushing feeling she'd experienced when her parents had shut down her dreams of being a constable.

Maybe that was the problem. She wanted to have something to hope for again, something to aspire to within the confines of her duties.

So, taking a deep breath, she gave a gentle blow to the dandelion, wishing to have something to wish for. It was redundant and kind of ironic, but Judy didn't care. It made sense in her mind, and that was all that mattered.

She opened her eyes to watch the white wisps catch the breeze and float off, dancing midair as they rose towards the sun.

* * *

 **[A/N]:** Is love in the air? Maybe! ;)

While writing this chapter, I was heavily inspired by the song "Hunnie Pie," by Zella Day. It's so fluffy and romantic, if you're interested you guys should totally check it out!


	10. Chapter 10

Something had changed. Nick could sense it. Ever since their time at the waterfall, Judy was less hostile towards him, which was a relief. He'd never gotten that ink stain out of his pants, which was definitely difficult to explain to his mother, not to mention just annoying.

When her siblings asked him to share stories of his travels, he noticed that Judy, rather than throw him a dirty glare, would turn her ears in his direction, though her physical demeanor still feigned disinterest. When he cracked a joke under his breath during lessons, she was more likely to snort into her paws, instead of kicking him in the shins. This was probably the best development so far, because if there was one thing Judy could do well, it was kick. _Hard._

He was happy that they were getting along better. The more time that passed, the more he started to see her not as a pipsqueak kit, but a fully-grown, confident young bunny. A bunny that was far more tolerable than he remembered, a bunny that he could actually sit down with and have a coherent conversation with. A bunny that he liked.

Not _liked_ liked. No, no, no. The idea of marrying her, no matter how hard he willed himself to feel otherwise, was still unsavory. While an amiable relationship _was_ beginning to bud between the two (at least, that's what he hoped was happening), he still felt no romantic affections towards the bunny. All his life, he'd only found himself romantically attracted to vixens, and as far as he knew, that hadn't changed yet. Which was fine. Their situation could be worse. Inky and kicky worse.

As Nick saw it, if they were going to be forced to marry, at least they could be friends. Hopefully.

He was stewing all of this over one afternoon, debating whether or not he should express any of this to her. The two were in the study, waiting for Miss Hufflethump to arrive for their lessons. Judy was seated beside him, fidgeting with the piece of parchment paper in front of her, attempting to fold it in several directions.

Nick cocked an eyebrow as he eyed her. "Whatcha up to, Fluff?"

Judy glanced at him before smiling sheepishly. "I…uh…it's nothing," she answered quickly, smoothing out the parchment in front of her.

"Didn't look like nothing."

"Well, that's what it was!" Judy claimed defensively, voice rising several octaves. "I'm just…bored! Yes! I'm bored from waiting for Miss Hufflethump to get here."

Nick gave a long, heavy sigh as if he'd been arguing with Judy for two hours instead of two seconds. "You're such a bad liar, Fluff. It's adorable."

"I am not!"

"You so are."

"I'm not adorable! …Or a bad liar."

"Just remind me to never commit any crimes with ya', Carrots," Nick said dryly, giving her a wry grin. "At your rate, the constables would be on us within minutes."

For a moment, he saw a flash of some unknown emotion flicker across her face, and she looked away from him, ears slumping against her back. She was upset about something. But what? Why? Had he touched a nerve? He was just kidding around…

"So…uh…," Nick continued, clearing his throat, "What were you doing with that paper? For real, this time."

Judy glanced at him before reluctantly speaking. "I was trying to…mukkappercne."

Nick frowned and leaned closer. "You're gonna have to speak up, Fluff — my ears aren't as big as yours."

"I was trying to make a paper crane!" Judy repeated loudly, voice sounding torn between laughter and annoyance.

"Ah hah," Nick smirked, leaning back in his chair. "So my skills do impress you."

"No!" Judy insisted, voice rising again. He noticed that her nose twitched when she was lying, a useful bit of information he would have to store away for if he was ever to play cards with her.

"C'mere," Nick motioned, beckoning her to lean closer, pay attention. He took the piece of parchment from her and walked her through the assembly of a crane, step-by-step. Once, mid-teach, he stopped to look up at her and caught sight of her wide, violet eyes, saw them move with every turn and press of his paws. She was completely focused, totally engrossed in learning every step.

It was cute.

"And there ya' have it!" Nick finished, turning his attention back to his now finished paper crane. "One parchment bird, courtesy of Nick Wilde."

Judy rolled her eyes but smiled. "Show-off."

"You asked, Fluff!"

"I never asked you to show me!"

"Not verbally," Nick admitted, "but your eyes!"

Judy blinked at him coyly, teasingly. "What about my eyes?"

Nick suddenly felt a wave of…something brush over him. His fur bristled and he felt his stomach flip. _Nausea, probably,_ he reminded himself. That carrot omelet he'd had this morning was all kinds of weird. "Well, they give everything away. They're your tell."

"My tell?"

"A way for someone to tell when you're lying," He explained.

Judy snorted. "So I should just close my eyes every time I lie?"

"Yup."

Judy burst out laughing, no doubt picturing how ridiculous that would look. "You're so dumb!" She giggled, paws fiddling with the paper crane he'd made her.

Nick felt that weird sensation again, listening to her laugh. Stupid omelet. "Says the bunny."

Judy nudged him just as Miss Hufflethump entered the room, causing both the bunny and fox to straighten in their seats. As she prepared her lesson materials at the front of the room, Nick's mind returned to where it'd been earlier today, about marrying as friends. He wasn't sure what she was feeling, but maybe this was something that they should discuss. Not that he was one to talk about his feelings, _ever._ But if they were going to spend the rest of their lives together…

"Hey, Fluff?" Nick muttered, causing her to turn to him.

"Yes?" She whispered back.

"Can we…uh…I wanted to ask you if—"

"Let's begin!" Miss Hufflethump said loudly, cutting off the fox mid-sentence.

Judy gave him an apologetic look and turned her attention to the front of the room.

"We've spent the past months talking about social matters," the elder bunny said, pushing her glasses up with a lace-gloved paw. "But now, I think it's time we moved onto more interpersonal, intimate matters."

Nick felt himself freeze. _Wait a minute._

"Now, one of the most important components to running a successful household is to produce many heirs!" Miss Hufflethump began.

Nick heard Judy's breath catch in her throat, felt her fidget in her seat.

 _No. Nope. Nick wasn't here right now. This wasn't happening. Not with Judy seated literal INCHES away from him._

If Nick wasn't blushing enough already, his cheeks nearly lit on fire once the elder bunny started drawing diagrams on the blackboard.

Yes. _Diagrams._

As if that wasn't enough, their instructor went on to describe exactly how the betrothed couple would go about following these diagrams, so that they could produce as many heirs as possible, all in far more graphic, scientific detail than Nick ever wanted to hear in his life.

"Now there's never been a fox and bunny couple in recorded history, at least not that we know of," Miss Hufflethump concluded, turning took look back at their slack-jawed faces, "So your coupling will be quite experimental!"

"Experimental?" Judy croaked, voice sounding hoarse.

"Yes, my dear! Since the odds aren't necessarily in your favor, you two will have to try to procreate vigorously!"

Nick and Judy didn't make eye contact for the rest of the day.

* * *

By far, late-summer was Judy's favorite time of year for one, slightly predictable reason: it was carrot season. Nick could tease her all he wanted, but carrot season was _exciting._ The brown fields of Bunnyburrow, still faded from the summer heat, had begun to sprout little sprigs of green carrot tops. The blueberries patches were bright arrays of indigo and leafy greens, and the apple trees glistened with their ruby fruits in the warm summer sun.

To celebrate the upcoming plentiful Bunnyburrow harvest, the newly annual Carrot Days festival was to be held. It was the biggest thing to happen in Bunnyburrow since the Unity Proclamation (which wasn't saying much, since those two events were the _only_ big things to happen in Bunnyburrow). Mammals from all over the land of Zootopia would travel to Bunnyburrow for lively games, delicious foods, and jovial entertainment. Last year, Judy had met mammals from all walks of life, and from all parts of Zootopia. Some had even traveled all the way from Tundra Town and Sahara Square, just for the festival. It was almost as exciting as Christmas. Maybe even a little more so.

That was why when August rolled around, Judy completely devoted herself to planning for Carrot Days. She helped the artists design the banners, she organized the layout of the food stands, she made a schedule of all the entertainers' performances, she did the calculations for how many blueberry pies would be needed for the pie-eating contest…

Needless to say, she was one busy bunny. If she wasn't in lessons with Hufflethump and Nick, she was doing something for the festival. _Anything,_ no matter how big or small. She wanted it all to be perfect.

"You're overworking yourself, Jude," her father lamented one evening over dinner. "Why don't cha leave it to the help to do that kind of running around?"

"It _is_ a little strange for a lady to do those kinds of things," her mother agreed, "You should be planning what you'll wear! The tailor is designing such lovely dresses for all your sisters…"

"That stuff is boring!" Judy huffed, poking at her carrots with a fork, "I like being active in the celebration! I want to actually make a difference!"

"Judith—"

"I happen to think Carro— _Judy_ is doing a great job," Nick said suddenly, causing her parents to look over at him in surprise. Throughout the whole dinner, he'd been rather quiet, observing the conversation with a passive indifference, choosing to let his mother chat up the rest of the Hopps family. But now that he was speaking, he had everyone's undivided attention. "I mean, did you see the banners she designed? They're amazing. We're talking real high-quality banners here — the best I've ever seen, honestly."

Some of Judy's siblings snorted into their paws, trying to stifle their giggles. Even Lady Hopps couldn't help but crack a smile at Nick's wry quips. Judy's father mumbled surly comments under his breath, but relented, evidently deciding it wasn't worth an argument.

Judy beamed happily, thankful that she wasn't going to receive yet another lecture on how she wasn't the perfect lady-in-training. All thanks to… _Nick?_

The bunny took a tentative glance upwards and across the table, making eye contact with Nick for a single moment, and exchanging a smile for even less time than that. And in that single second of mutual solidarity, Judy couldn't deny that it felt…nice.

Really nice.

After dinner, Judy retreated to the orchards. The sun was still on the cusp of setting, leaving the sky a bright orange and pink hue. She'd been hard at work picking blueberries earlier that day when dinner time had interrupted her. Now, she was free to finish without any interruptions. At least she _was_ , until…

"Hiya, Carrots!"

Judy didn't even have to look to know who had followed her. "What do you want, Nick?" She asked, not turning to face him. She was too busy counting how many baskets of blueberries she had filled.

"I don't have to want something to talk to you, _Judith,"_ Nick smirked, letting every last syllable of her full name fall off his tongue. "I just thought I might help you out with…what exactly is it that you're doing?"

Judy turned to eye him over her shoulder. "Carrot Days is only 3 days away! These blueberries need to be delivered to the bakers in town. I was helping the staff pick some earlier, and now they just left them out here! They need to be loaded onto the carriages so they're ready to be delivered tomorrow morning!"

Nick raised an eyebrow. "And this is your responsibility because…?"

"Because if I don't help it won't get done!" Judy insisted, pointing to the baskets of blueberries around her feet, so as to further emphasize her point. "This festival has to go perfectly!"

"Right…" Nick replied, sounding unconvinced. He walked over to the nearest bush and plucked a pawful of blueberries off, tossing them one by one into his mouth. 'So what exactly is this Carrot Days thing?" He asked, mouth full of fruit.

"It's a festival!" Judy replied. She had to stop herself from chastising him for eating potential pie ingredients. "To celebrate Bunnyburrow's harvests!"

"I don't remember it."

"That's because it's new, my family came up with the idea 3 years ago. Now it's an annual tradition."

"And your latest obsession."

"I'm not obsessed!" Judy exclaimed, voice getting all high-pitched again. She hated when that happened. "I'm not," she repeated, voice more controlled this time.

"Well, it's all you've been talking about for the past couple days."

"No!"

"Oh, you're right, sorry. I meant to say _weeks._ "

Judy rolled her eyes. "I just want it to go well, alright? It's such an amazing festival…and it's one of the only 'unladylike' things my parents will let me do."

"Ah hah! There it is!" Nick smiled, pointing a finger at her. "While most teenagers act out by sneaking rum or egging buildings, you rebel by carting buckets of blueberries around. It all makes sense now."

Judy felt her cheeks grow hot with embarrassment. "Shut up!" She huffed, unable to stop herself from smiling. "You're so dumb."

The two exchanged a light laugh that quickly died down into an awkward silence. Judy found herself staring at her feet, wondering what to say next. This was certainly different, as in the past, every moment between them had been charged with bickering and resentment.

Thankfully, the awkwardness didn't last long, as Nick chose to break the silence. "Actually, there is something specific I came out here to talk about," he said slowly, not quite looking at her.

"Oh?" Judy questioned, "And what is that?"

Nick shuffled his feet in place for a moment. Judy could practically hear him turning over his words in his head, carefully picking out and arranging his sentences. "Listen, Fluff," the fox said slowly, carefully. "I know you're not thrilled about the whole being-forced-to-marry-me thing. I know I'm not. But we don't have to make it harder on ourselves."

Judy eyed him cautiously. "What are you suggesting?"

Nick paused again. Judy couldn't help but notice that his already orange fur looked especially fiery in the glow of the sunset. "I wanna be friends."

"Friends?"

"Yeah, ya' know, that kind of relationship where people mutually like each other?" A smirk grew on his face as his voice settled into his usual confident, couldn't-care-less tone. "I guess I can't really expect you to understand what a friend is, considering you don't— "

"Shut up!" Judy leaned forward and gave him a light punch in the arm before he could finish his jab. "I have friends, dumb fox."

"The _point_ is," Nick smiled, rubbing at his arm slightly, "Even though we're not in love, I think we could still try to view this whole wedding title as just that: a title. It doesn't mean we should try to force ourselves to feel things that we don't."

Judy mulled over his words, not quite sure how to feel. It was true that she didn't have any romantic feelings towards Nick, at least, not that she thought. She'd always thought that she'd just have to force the feelings out of her, just like she was forced to do everything else asked of her. It never occurred to her that there was another option.

"So…you're suggesting…what are you suggesting, exactly?" Judy frowned. Her head was starting to hurt.

"That we can be pleasant to each other! If we're going to be stuck together for the rest of our lives, at least we can be stuck together as friends."

Judy's eyes widened.

"Not like that!" Nick insisted, raising his paws and flushing even redder. "This has nothing to do with…heirs, or anything like that. I don't know what we're going to do about that. But I just want us to be friends! If I can't marry someone I love, at least I could marry someone that I can at least hang out with, and talk with. Someone to have fun with."

Judy hesitated. The idea held up so many complications — what _were_ they going to do about heirs? And would this mean they would see other people in secret? Judy didn't think she wanted to do that. The idea of Nick doing that bugged her on a deeper level. And what about their parents? They would still expect her and Nick to be a perfectly in love couple. That love would find them and they'd live happily ever after. But if it never did, then what? Wouldn't they find out? Would it even matter, at this point?

All the questions and worries made Judy's head hurt, and yet, when she took a moment to take a deep breath, it wasn't that complicated at all. Nick was simply extending an olive branch, trying to call a truce and make the best of a difficult situation.

And if the choice was marrying a friend or marrying someone she refused to have _any_ feelings for, Judy definitely would choose the former.

"So whaddya say?" Nick asked, holding out his paw to her. "Friends?"

Judy nodded and smiled, grasping his paw and shaking it. "Friends."

Nick gave her a smile, one of the few (but increasingly frequent), genuine smiles. Judy returned the affection, pulling away only when she felt her gut flip in her stomach, for some reason. "So, uh, can you help me carry these baskets to the carriages?" Judy asked, turning her focus back to the blueberries. "I don't think they should be left out here all night."

"Nah, I think you've got it pretty much covered," Nick replied casually, slipping his paws into his pockets. "Besides, you're so good at carrying things all on your own. I wouldn't want to come between you and your natural, God-given talent, now would I?"

Judy gave him a look.

"Alright, alright, if you insist," Nick sighed, bending down to pick up a basket. He winced under the weight, eyeing Judy incredulously as she lifted hers with ease. "Anything for my bunny wifey."

"I'm not your wifey."

"Future wifey."

Judy flicked a blueberry at his head.


	11. Chapter 11

**[A/N]:** Sorry for such the long wait, but in my defense, this chapter is the length of like 2-3 normal chapters! Enjoy!

* * *

"So, do you like, like Nicholas?" Jacqueline asked.

Judy stiffened as she looked at her sister through the view in the mirror. The two (along with several of Judy's other sisters, as well as some handmaidens) were crowded into the large dressing quarters together. Jacqueline was currently being fitted into her Carrot Days dress while Judy sat at the vanity. One of the handmaidens was brushing Judy's fur, something Judy secretly resented. It was as if she was a kit! She was expected to get married and pop out hundreds of heirs, and yet she wasn't even allowed to brush her own fur. Typical. "What do you mean?"

"Everyone saw you two sneaking off together the other night," Jacqueline smirked, flinching as her corset began to get laced.

Judy felt her cheeks grow warm. "I don't know what you're talking about," she said casually, focusing very hard on her petite claws. Her handmaiden gently guided her head upward again, forcing Judy to maintain eye contact with her sister.

"Oh, c'mon Judy," Juniper, another Hopps sister, said from the corner. She was picking out what pearl necklace she wanted to wear. "You're such a bad liar!"

"I am not!" Judy huffed, "Why does everyone keep saying that?"

"Because it's true!" Juniper snorted.

"And because we all know you and Nick were probably off warming up for the wedding night," Jacqueline snickered.

Judy gaped at her. " _What?"_

The other Hopps sisters in the room giggled at Judy's shocked expression.

"She's so lying!"

"Busted!"

Judy glared at them through the mirror just as her handmaiden finished brushing her fur. "You guys are ridiculous. Nick and I are friends. _Friends!_ The other night he was just helping me move blueberries to the carriages!"

"Mmm hmm," Jacqueline just hummed, "And I'm sure you helped him move _his_ blueberries afterwards."

Judy felt her face flush red, completely mortified. "You're completely vulgar, Jacqueline," she griped, getting up from the vanity. "If Mom heard you right now, she'd have a fit."

"Oh, please, prude-y Judy, you'll be married within a year, you're going to have to start thinking about these kinds of things soon enough."

"Trust me, I know," Judy said with a shudder, thinking back to their lesson with Miss Hufflethump. "That doesn't mean it's any of your business. Besides, Nick and I aren't going to be romantically involved. It's going to be a platonic relationship."

Her sisters all turned to look at her, faces scrunched up with confusion as if Judy had grown a second head.

 _"What?"_

"But you're going to be _married."_

"That doesn't even make sense!"

Judy hesitated. "Well, yes, we'll be married, legally, but we're just going to stay friends, emotionally."

" _Huh?"_

"But how will you have _heirs?"_

"That doesn't even make sense!"

"Never mind!" Judy waved her paws dismissively. "It made more sense when Nick said it. The point is, I don't like him. We're just friends!"

Her sisters exchanged doubtful glances. "Riiiiight," Jacqueline replied with a snicker, "We _totally_ believe you."

Judy was thankful for the knock on the dressing room door, which provided a much-needed interruption from her tittering sisters.

"Miss Hopps?" One of Judy's handmaidens called out, stepping into the room.

"Yes?" Judy replied eagerly.

"Nicholas is waiting for you in the foyer. Your parents want to make sure that you two board the same carriage together."

Judy's sisters immediately burst into taunting laughs and jeers.

"Don't get too cozy!" Jacqueline crooned, spurring even more giggles.

"Goodbye, girls," Judy said testily as she rolled her eyes at their eccentricities. She grabbed a strand of pearls off one of the dressers and fastened it around her neck before following her handmaiden out of the dressing room.

For once, in like, forever, she was actually _excited_ to see Nick. Despite not wanting to admit anything to her sisters' insufferable teasing, she was enjoying her time with him. He'd helped her with the blueberries the other night, even though he didn't have to, and they'd even had some fun while doing it. He was quite funny, though Judy would never admit that to his face. It'd make him even cockier than he already was.

She entered the foyer, where Nick was indeed waiting for her. He turned at the sound of her footsteps, locking eye contact with her and making Judy feel slightly flustered.

"Hey, Cottontail," he said casually. He was sporting a new, crisp suit, similar to the one he'd worn when they'd first met, but instead of navy, this one had a deep maroon waistcoat and tan trousers.

It was only then that Judy looked down and realized that her Carrot Days dress was meant to coordinate with Nick's suit, her dress being summery off-white in color with a maroon sash around the waist, finished off with a large bow above her bustle.

Great. Now even the _seamstresses_ were pushing for them to be together.

Nevertheless, Judy wasn't going to focus on the negatives. While it was becoming alarmingly clear that she wasn't going to have control over her marital life, she could control how she felt. And after almost 18 years, she was done with feeling mopey. She would find a way to make herself happy, despite how limited her options were.

"What do you think?" Judy asked, giving Nick a twirl. She couldn't help but giggle at his bemused expression, and how her dress billowed around her with a satisfying _woosh!_ "Do I look 'presentable' enough for you?"

Nick stroked the underside of his muzzle thoughtfully. "Nah," he finally answered with a shake of his head. "This is completely unacceptable. How can I ever show you off to the public now? We'll be laughed out of the Burrows."

Judy held back a laugh as she lowered her head mournfully. "I'm so sorry, my dear, great husband. Will you ever forgive me?"

Nick only laughed in response, which caused Judy to laugh, and soon they'd nearly torn themselves apart in fits of giggles. It would have made for a nice moment…

…If it wasn't harshly interrupted by their parents.

"Oh, Nicholas, you look simply dashing!" Lady Wilde exclaimed. She was followed by Judy's parents, who were beaming just as widely. Judy suspected it was mostly because Nick and Judy were no longer clawing at each other's throats on a regular basis.

Judy's eyes flitted over to Nick. His mother did have a point — Judy hadn't noticed when she'd first looked at him, but Nick did look quite nice today, with a crisp, clean suit and neatly brushed fur. Then again, he looked extra nice any time he wasn't fresh back from swimming in creeks or hiking through the woods.

"And Judith, you look simply divine!" Lady Wilde went on, stepping forward to give Judy a loving hug.

"Doesn't she?" Nick said, "You guys sure know how to assign them!"

Judy snorted and giggled as her parents exchanged tentative glances, clearly unsure of how to react. Nick's mother removed a paw from Judy to swat at him, though without any genuine malice.

"Nicholas is just joking," she explained to the Hopps, and her parents smiled appreciatively.

"I know," Judy replied, exchanging a wry smirk with Nick. He winked at her.

Lady Wilde pulled back carefully to smile at Judy. While the vixen wasn't incredibly aged (she was only slightly younger than Judy's mother), her movements had a tentative and careful flow to them. There was a look in her eye that was incredibly other-worldly, a tough look that'd probably seen such hardships.

Ever since Judy had found out about what happened to Nick's father, she'd felt slightly uncomfortable around Lady Wilde. She felt the increasing responsibility to say something, to console her somehow, even though the death had happened years ago. Should she say something? Or nothing at all? Not knowing what to do was incredibly disorienting, and a feeling that Judy couldn't stand.

"Well, there's no time like the present!" Judy's father declared. "Shall we?" He held out his arm to Lady Hopps, who took it gracefully.

Nick and Judy glanced at each other before following suit, though with slightly more difficulty. Considering that the top of Judy's head just barely reached the top of Nick's torso, linking arms was no easy feat. Judy had to stand on her tip-toes and Nick had to slightly buckle his knees in order for it to _kinda_ work.

It was pretty painful, to say the least, but their parents looked so _pleased_ and Judy knew they'd get chastised if they didn't do it anyway.

"Oh! Before I forget!" Lady Hopps said suddenly, "You and Nick will be giving a short speech before the ceremony officially begins!"

Nick and Judy's faces blanched. _"What?!"_

"I'm sorry," she continued, giving them a sheepish smile, "I meant to tell you earlier, but it must have slipped my mind with all the preparations. Don't worry, it's nothing huge, we just need you to welcome everyone."

Nick opened his mouth to protest, but Judy clamped down her grip on his arm, silencing him.

"Thanks, Mom!" she said brightly

" _Carrots!_ I don't know anything about this festival," Nick hissed into her ear, "I just moved here like…yesterday. What am I going to say?"

"I'll just wing it!" Judy whispered back.

" _You? Wing_ something? Hate to break it to ya', Fluff, but you're the most obsessive planner I know."

 _"Am not!"_

"The thought of misplaced blueberries nearly gave you an aneurysm," Nick reminded her.

"They did not!"

"They so did."

"Are you two alright?" Lady Hopps asked warily. The group had made their way out to the courtyard, where countless numbers of Judy's family members were boarding carriages to head into town.

"Of course!" Nick said, speaking slightly louder to be heard above the hustle and bustle of the bunnies. "I was just telling Judy how excited I am for Carrot Hays."

 _"Days,"_ Judy hissed, giving him a nudge.

"Days!" Nick amended.

If Judy wasn't straining to hold onto Nick's arm, she would have smacked herself on the forehead.

This wasn't going to be pretty.

* * *

The carriage ride into town went by far too quickly. It didn't give Nick nearly enough time to plan out what he was going to say for some kind of speech. Yes, Judy said she would handle it, but who was she kidding? Definitely not him. She was fidgeting like crazy in the carriage seat next to him. Not just that, but he felt guilty putting all the pressure on Judy. That didn't seem very husband-y. Not that he was trying to be her husband. They weren't even married yet. But he still wanted to be a decent mammal.

But sadly, no matter how hard he tried, his mind kept coming up blank. After all, he really knew nothing about Carrot Days. How could he give a speech on it?

"You sure you got this covered, Fluff?" he mumbled to Judy. The carriages had to have been custom-built for the Hopps, or at least bunny families in general, because it sat nearly ten mammals within its circular form. This meant Nick and Judy were riding into town with about 8 other bunnies, most of which had been staring at Nick the whole time. Awkward.

"Let's go with 'yes,'" Judy quietly replied, "I think I've got it figured out. I mean, I have to, don't I? It's not like this is the first time we've had to do something just because my parents asked."

She said it lightly, like a joke, but Nick understood that there was still a suppressed resentment to her tone.

"Yeah," he said back, trying to lighten the mood, "Like that time they asked me to bathe you when you were a baby. Talk about doing something against your will."

His smirk grew only larger at the way Judy's face burned bright red. "W-what?!" She stammered, ears standing on end. "B-but…that _didn't_ happen! D-did it?"

"Nope. But you should see the look on your face — it's priceless."

Judy let out a relieved huff of air before frowning and punching him in the arm. "Dumb fox!"

"I'm sorry!" Nick chuckled, rubbing at his arm slightly, because _jeez,_ the bunny could hit as hard as she kicked, even if she didn't know it, "I couldn't help myself."

And just like that, the carriage rolled into the town square, far too quickly.

 _Shi-_

"Welcome to the Carrot Days festival!" A voice rang out, swinging open the door of the carriage. The other passengers scampered out excitedly, all chattering away with each other. Nick exchanged an anxious look with Judy before putting on a brave face. "Well, no time like the present, Carrots," he said confidently (at least, he hoped it sounded confident), "Let's go get our carrot on."

"Never," Judy replied, exiting the carriage, "Say that sentence again."

"So you _don't_ want to get your carrot on, Carrots? I thought carrots was the whole point of Carrot Days, Carrots?"

"If you say 'carrot' one more time…"

Nick smiled at the back of her head as he too exited the carriage, the door of which was being held open by a bunny who was looking _way_ too chipper, considering it was only about 9 o'clock in the morning.

When his feet hit the ground, he finally got to blink up into the early morning sunlight, as well as get a good view of the town square. And needless to say, the bunnies had gone all out. Decorations covered nearly every inch of the town square, a vibrant explosion of summery hues. There were golden flowers in extravagant bouquets, wreaths, and garlands. The Bunnyburrow flag billowed in the wind beside the flag of Zootopia, both carried through the crowd by two proud-looking rabbits. The notes of flutes, violins, drums, and fiddles danced through the air from a band was playing towards the center of the square. And, of course, there were carrots. Carrot cakes, carrot pies, carrot bouquets, chilled carrots…Nick quickly gave up on trying to identify just how many different carrot things he could identify.

Before he could even fully take it all in, Lady Hopps had already found them and was pushing them through the thick crowd of mammals. "We've got to get you to the stage!" She exclaimed, barely audible over the noise of the town square. Nick couldn't help but notice the stares they were already attracting as they wove their way through the crowd. He knew that the Hopps were pretty well-known around here, but he'd never fully realized how much until now. Whispers were exchanged as people caught sight of Nick and Judy passing by together, and though his hearing wasn't as sharp as a rabbit's, he still caught wind of things like _"Hopps,"_ and, _"Proclamation,"_ and, _"Predator."_

There was a small stage that'd been hastily built in a grassy clearing that overlooked the bay, and Lady Hopps hastily escorted Nick and Judy onto it.

 _Predator._ The word rattled around in Nick's mind with uncertainty, not quite sure if it was an insult or not.

Come to think of it, Nick realized, there weren't that many predators around Bunnyburrow. There were bunnies (obviously), sheep, squirrels, deer — really, the only predators he'd seen around here was a bobcat family that'd moved in recently (it'd been the talk of the town for weeks), a handful of fox families, and one bear family. Even today with the festival, a day that'd brought mammals from all over Zootopia, it was still mostly prey.

During his time away, his father had further explained the Unity Proclamation and why it was necessary. Predators Against Wrongful Segregation, also known as PAWS, was threatening an uprising, and this marriage was supposed to solve/sedate it somehow. It sounded ridiculous to Nick when he first heard it, and it still did today. After all, how was a little marriage going to solve anyone's problems?

But looking out at the crowd today, he could kind of understand why there was so much unrest. Predators, at least in Bunnyburrow, were given hardly any representation, and the ones who were here (i.e., the bobcat family), were often gossiped about like no tomorrow.

Nick was shaken out of his reverie by Judy clearing her throat. He blinked and refocused, realizing that he and Judy were now standing front and center stage, right in front of a crowd of hushed festival attendees.

The speech. Right.

Nick looked over to his…no, calling Judy his fiancée still felt way too weird. His rabbit? His Judy? Judy. He looked over to Judy, whose paws were shaking, but was standing firmly beside him.

"Welcome!" She called out. With such a tiny frame, it was honestly surprising that she was able to project her voice so far. "Thank you for attending the annual Carrot Day festival! It's an honor to have you all here!"

Nick listened to her chatter away, desperately searching the recesses of his mind for all his lessons on speech-giving he'd had in university. Inflection kept jumping out at him, but that was virtually useless…

"We, the Hopps family, as well as the many citizens of Bunnyburrow, have spent the past few weeks preparing this celebration for you all, so I really hope you'll have the opportunity to completely enjoy all the festivities that the festival has to offer!" Judy continued.

Nick had to stop himself from laughing right there on stage. The way Judy strung out her sentences with supplementary words reminded him of his times back in university, during his essay writing classes, when he'd needed to meet the requested word count of his professors. _The history of the land that is Zootopia began approximately 2 centuries ago, that is to say, about 200 years ago. The land of Zootopia was historically founded all those 200 years ago when Sir Lionheart sailed the SS Zoologia to what is today known as the land of Savannah Centre, the capital of Zootopia, 200 years ago…_

Judy finished speaking and turned to Nick with a tight smile, nudging him slightly. _"Say something,"_ she hissed, low enough only for Nick to hear.

 _Here we go._

"Yes!" Nick added, feeling like a complete idiot as his mouth rambled on, "So, there's games and food, lots of carrots, of course, so…ah…have fun! Mazel tov, and all that."

The audience broke into polite applause, and both Nick and Judy breathed sighs of relief.

"So, that wasn't completely terrible," Nick whispered to his rabbit partner.

"No," Judy said through her teeth, waving to the audience, "But _mazel tov?"_

"I could have just said 'hey.'"

Judy snorted, breaking through her tight smile and collapsing into genuine giggles. "That's true!"

Nick smirked down at her before bending his knees and linking arms with her, leading both of them off stage. Judy's mother was waiting off stage for them, and thankfully, was smiling.

"What do you think?" Judy asked hesitantly.

"You did very well, dear," her mother assured warmly, "I'm sorry that I forgot to tell you sooner, but you know how busy it's been around here."

Judy nodded in understanding. Nick could sense her muscles relax at her mother's approval. As rebellious as Judy could be, Nick knew that she still needed her parents' approval. She was a walking paradox in that way.

"What should we do now?" Judy asked her mother.

"Well," Lady Hopps looked around the bustling festival thoughtfully, "I suppose you should go out and enjoy yourselves. You two deserve a little fun."

Nick couldn't agree more. "I think that sounds great!" He said, already pulling Judy back towards the town.

"Thanks, Mom!" Judy added cheerfully.

"Just remember!" Her mother called out after them, a bemused smile on her face, "You're a symbol for the people! Make good choices!"

Nick and Judy nodded as they headed into the thick of the festival. The band had started up again with their jovial tunes, children were setting up ball games in the fields, vendors were shouting out the prices of their various carrot goods, and excited chatter filled the air.

"What should we do first?" Nick asked Judy.

Before Judy could reply, she was cut off by a loud and all-too-familiar cry. _"NICK?"_

Nick hadn't heard that voice in years, but he'd recognize it anywhere. Sure enough, when he turned around, Finnick was standing behind him, paws on his hips and a wicked grin on his face.

"Finnick!" Nick exclaimed, breaking away from Judy to exchange a pawshake with his old friend, "Good to see ya' buddy! And may I say, you haven't grown an inch!"

"Shut up, man!" Finnick growled, giving Nick a shove. Nick responded by yanking him into a headlock and giving him a noogie. The two scuffled back and forth for a bit before their ears perked up to the sound of Judy clearing her throat.

"Uh…Nick?" Judy asked cautiously, raising a paw as if to remind him that she was still there. "Hi."

"Oh! Right!" Nick released Finnick, brushed himself off, and took a casual stance next to Judy. "Finnick, you remember Judy, right?" He felt a little stupid after asking the question, because, of course, Finnick would remember Judy. He was the one who lived in Bunnyburrow, Nick was the one who had left.

"The pipsqueak!" Finnick snorted, earning a glare from Judy. "So you two still doing the whole marriage thing?"

"Yes," Judy replied stiffly, folding her arms across her chest. "We're still betrothed."

"Damn," Finnick lamented with a shake of his head, "Sorry, man. Sounds like it must be hell."

Nick felt something prickle at the back of his neck. An uncomfortable sensation. "Well, you know," he shrugged, "It is what it is."

Finnick opened his mouth to speak again, but this time Judy cut _him_ off. "Well, as… _great_ as it was running into you again, Finnick, Nick and I really have to get going," Judy simpered, linking arms with Nick again.

"Uh, yeah," Nick added, eyeing Judy. "I guess we better."

"Alright, man," Finnick said with a dismissive wave of his paw, "but hey, when you're not attached to that ball and chain, we should meet up! Hang around, just like old times!"

"Of course!" Nick nodded, genuinely, "You still on Taproot street?"

"You know it."

"I'll keep you posted then."

Finnick gave a final nod before slinking off into the crowd, approaching a pair of attractive vixens with a confident gleam in his eye.

Judy, looking disgruntled, led Nick away and back into the crowd.

"You alright, Carrots?" Nick asked casually.

"Finnick could use a few manners," she replied crossly, not looking at Nick.

"Ah, he's always been like that," Nick shrugged, "I wouldn't worry about it too much."

"I guess," Judy said with a sigh, using her free paw to brush her ears down. She hesitated for a moment afterward, grip on his arm fidgeting. "Do…do you really think I'm a ball and chain?"

Nick's eyebrows raised in surprise. He didn't think Judy had been paying attention that closely to their conversation, nor that she would care that much. For a second he thought she was joking, but when he looked at her he saw that her face was set with seriousness.

"No," he assured her. "I mean, sure, you're annoying sometimes, but it's not _that_ bad."

He hoped that she would understand the sincerity behind his playful jabs, and thankfully, it appeared that she did.

"Okay," she replied, a small smile on her muzzle. He felt her muscles relax again, like they had with her mother, and Nick began looking around for something to distract themselves with. Thankfully, Carrot Days really was extravagant as everyone had talked it up to be, and there was plenty to do.

As this was his first time, Judy guided him through everything. Her excitement was palpable, and she eagerly led him from attraction to attraction. They tasted carrot dishes of every kind, watched a magician perform tricks, joined in a game of ball with some kits, and Nick even purchased one of the golden flowers for Judy to tuck behind her ear.

"It's beautiful," she admired, looking at her reflection in a shop window.

"Yeah, it's pretty nice," Nick admitted, his throat feeling dry for some odd reason. He needed a drink. Or something to eat, at least.

As if to directly answer his needs, his eyes fell upon an elegantly painted sign, reading: _BLUEBERRY PIE EATING CONTEST!_

Um. Yes.

"Carrots!" Nick whined, tugging on her paw and pointing towards the sign, "We have to enter!"

Judy peered at the sign, hesitantly. "I dunno, Nick. Knowing you, you're probably going to make yourself sick."

"But it's free blueberry pie! Free, _all you can eat_ blueberry pie!"

Judy eyed him, unimpressed. "We can make you pie at home."

"Not _free, all you can eat_ pie. And there's a prize!"

"What's the prize?"

"I dunno, but there is one."

Judy smirked at him. "Oh boy. Well, in _that_ case…"

"Please, Lady Hopps," Nick said, kneeling into a deep bow in front of her. He knelt his head and held her paw to his heart, really milking the whole thing up. "I will eat all the pies, and win you the prize, whatever it is. I will fight for you, to the death!"

"Unless you're planning on choking on the blueberries, I don't think that'll be necessary," Judy snorted, though she was blushing severely.

Nick lifted his head to give her a pleading pout. "Pleaseeee?"

"You're such a child!" Judy laughed. "But fine!"

"Really?"

"Let's go, you dumb fox."

Nick leapt to his feet and pulled Judy towards the rows of tables that had been set up for the contest. Other contestants — some bucks, a couple foxes, a ram, and some bears — had taken their seats already, so Nick and Judy followed suit.

"Get ready to watch and learn," Nick boasted to Judy, cracking his knuckles.

"All the same to you," Judy said right back, mimicking his actions.

Nick paused, confused. "What?"

"You think that just because you're a fox you can eat more than me?" Judy taunted, sitting up higher, "Well, think again fox. I may not be able to win the contest, but I know I can beat you."

Nick laughed, a mixture of surprise and delight and impressiveness. "You're challenging me, Fluff?"

"You bet I am."

"Alright, you're on! Prepare to eat your heart out, Fluff."

"I will! Because I'll eat more than you!"

Nick gave her a playful nudge, which she returned before the pies started to be distributed.

"You'll have 20 minutes to eat as much as you can!" A brown buck called out, holding up a silver bell. "Whoever can finish the most will win the grand prize!"

A bunny placed several pies in front of Nick and Judy, then moved onto the next contestants. With golden brown lattice crusts and oozing blueberry filling, they almost looked too good to eat. Almost.

Nick gave Judy a wink before readying himself and grabbing a fork.

"On your marks, get set…"

And with the ring of a bell, the contest began.

Nick dove right in, eyes closing with pleasure as he took his first bite. The pies tasted just as good as they looked, maybe even better. A small group of onlookers had formed and started cheering on the contestants, willing them to eat faster.

The first pie was easy. Nick had downed it within 5 minutes, much to Judy's alarm. She frowned when he tossed aside the empty pan and smirked at her cockily. "It's not over yet!" She mumbled through a mouthful of blueberries, and proceed to eat away at her pie even faster.

As the time ticked past, Nick's confidence began to wane. Judy finished her first pie by the same time Nick was almost finished with his second, but by then he was already slowing down.

In the end, when the final bell rang out 20 minutes later, Nick had finished 5 pies in all, Judy 3 and a half. Despite this feat, the award wound up going to one of the other foxes, Gideon, who had finished 10 pies within the allotted time. Nick was disappointed, though mostly for his ego's sake, not because he was sad about missing out on the grand prize: a carrot pie. At least he'd still beaten Judy, though.

"Ugh," Judy groaned, slumping over in her seat. "I'm stuffed."

"What was that about beating me, Fluff?" Nick said dryly, turning to her.

"Shut up," Judy moaned, giving him a half-hearted nudge.

Nick smiled and helped her up from the table, his own stomach filled to the brim. "I will admit, you did a lot better than I thought you would, Cottontail."

"Oh, really? And how many did you think I would finish?"

"One…half" Nick snickered.

Judy rolled her eyes and nudged him. The two followed up the contest by taking a pleasant, quiet walk back through town, allowing their stomachs to settle slightly. There was a small commotion happening in the center of town square, and Nick couldn't help but be drawn to it. He led Judy towards it, the sound growing louder as they grew closer — footsteps, music, clapping, laughter.

To their surprise, they saw that a dance circle had formed in the town square. 20 or so couples were dancing a jig in time to the band's music, all to the cheering of the onlooking crowd.

The dance partners held paws with each other as they twirled through the square, smiles on their faces and a lightness in their steps. It did look pretty fun, though after watching the dancers for several moments, it occurred to him that he was currently still arm-in-arm with a female, who was his technical financée.

Nick turned to look down at the rabbit beside him, who was already looking back at him. He could practically hear Judy blushing.

"Do you…ah…do you think we should?" She asked cautiously, looking up at him in a way that was, unfortunately, very cute.

"Dance?" Nick repeated, voice sounding slightly hoarse.

Judy shrugged as if she was indifferent to the whole thing, but Nick knew her better. Her eyes were scanning, scrutinizing, anxiously awaiting his next move.

Nick hesitated. Dance? With Judy? It still felt like only moments ago they were bickering and snickering and differing in every way possible. Now, she was asking him to dance.

"I dunno, Fluff," Nick said slowly, "I'm not really a dancer."

"Liar! We took lessons!"

"Well, yeah! Only because we had to!"

"So you _can_ dance, you just don't want to."

"Basically."

Nick expected her to pout or cry, but then again, Judy wasn't 6 years old anymore, so neither of those responses would really fit. Maybe give him a glare or an exasperated sigh.

But instead, she smiled and laughed. _Laughed._

"Then I will dance _for_ you, Sir Wilde!" Judy giggled, "To the death!"

"That," Nick snorted, though unable to hide his grin, "makes no sense."

"It so does," Judy insisted, inching closer to the circle of dancers. The music was beginning to grow in intensity and excitement, and Nick couldn't help but notice how Judy was beginning to hop in place.

"It really doesn't," Nick countered, though his foot was already starting to tap with the rhythm of the drum. In his defense, it was absurdly catchy.

"Well, unless you want me to die, then you should probably come over here, so I _don't_ have to dance to my death," Judy said.

"We can't have that now, can we?"

"We really can't."

And so, with a reluctant sigh that was more for theatrics than anything else, Nick took her paw and led her into the dance circle, much to Judy's overt and eager delight.

Their height difference came into play again as they linked paws. Judy had to crane her head up to look at him, and Nick had to keep his head and paws lower than usual, but they made it work. It was a lot easier than linking arms, that was for sure, but still slightly awkward.

But as the music began to pick up and Nick and Judy began to dance, all awkwardness slipped away. The dance was simple, really, especially compared to all the fancy waltzes and foxtrots they'd had to learn in lessons. This dance was a simple jig, one of linked paws and bouncing movements and a lively beat. The dancers moved in a circle, twirling and spinning around the town square in a fluid current of rhythm and song. Nick and Judy took cue from the others and merged into the group like fish in the tide, and within moments, they were moving along right with the others. Nick led the pair, eyes locked with Judy and a sheepish grin on his face. She only beamed back at him, completely caught up in the thrill of it all.

The fiddles played their merry turn, the violins added a sophisticated harmony, the flutes tittered in excitement, and the drums pounded away, all to the rhythmic clapping of the bystanders. Nick slipped his paws down to grip her waist as he and the other bucks lifted and twirled their partners in the air. Judy gasped at being lifted off the ground, and Nick couldn't help but laugh at how she squealed his name in both indignation and delight. When he lowered her back to earth, the jig resumed and the flow continued, spinning, floating, pounding.

As the music grew even faster, the clapping quicker, the dance movements swifter, Nick lost himself. The beats of the drum matched the pounding of his heart, already elevated due to sheer adrenaline. The world around him suddenly slowed and became nothing more than the feeling of his feet hitting the cobbled street, his the feeling of his rough paw pads interlocked with Judy's downy fur, and…

 _Those eyes._

God, he felt like a total sap for noticing it, but he couldn't help himself. They were _sparkling,_ almost as if with tears, but of a happy sort. Deep nebulas of violet and amethyst, radiating pure joy. He felt his stomach lurch as that nauseous feeling was right back, but this time there was no omelette to blame. The pies, then, maybe…

And just like that, the music ended and the dance came to a halt, far too quickly.

It was like awakening from a dream, the way Nick was so abruptly and unceremoniously brought back to reality. The audience broke their rhythmic clapping and burst into appreciative applause, cheering for both the band and the dancers.

Judy gave a breathy laugh as she pulled away from Nick, looking slightly dizzy. "Wow," she said, looking up at Nick with a demure shyness.

"Wow," Nick simply replied, feeling at a loss for words.

"That was really —" Judy began, then stopped. Her face changed as her gaze broke away from him and her face paled.

"What?" Nick asked, suddenly needing to know what she was going to say next. "That was really what?"

Judy just shook her head frantically as one paw flew to her mouth and another to her stomach. "I-I don't feel so well," she mumbled into her paw, swaying in place.

Nick's eyes widened in alarm. _"Judy?"_

It was a shame, really, the whole situation. They'd been having such a great time. The dance they'd shared had small sparks of something. Friendship, perhaps, or maybe something else. Regardless, whatever moment they had was immediately ruined by Judy fleeing towards the nearest barrel of carrots and hurling chunks of blueberry pie into it.

There was an audible shocked gasp from the crowd, no doubt because of seeing the one of the most prominent Hopps daughters, retching into a barrel of now-spoiled carrots. Then, the nail in the coffin.

 _"JUDY?"_

The shrill tone of Lady Hopps could have shattered glass.

Heart sinking in his chest, Nick looked over to see that both his mother and Judy's parents had been watching the dance, and, consequently, what followed.

 _Uh oh._

Nick ran to Judy's side just as the parents did the same.

"Are you okay, Judes?" Nick asked, helping her up.

Judy wiped at her mouth with the back of her paw, face downcast with absolute mortification. "I'm fine," she said, though the somber tone said anything but, "I just ate too much." She glanced around, past her parents who were now beside her, at the crowd of gawking onlookers, and wilted. She looked like she was about to faint, so Nick gripped her arm, keeping her upright.

"Oh, Judith, what were you thinking?" Judy's mother lamented, cupping her daughter's face. Her face was so downcast, she looked as if she'd just witnessed a death.

"I'm sorry, Mom!" Judy pleaded, looking into her mother's eyes with shame, "We just got carried away! It was an accident!"

"It's my fault, really," Nick cut in, "The whole thing was my idea, to do the pie eating contest, I mean."

"That's very kind of you Nick, but really, where are your manners, Judith?" Lady Hopps went on, "Your ladylikeness? All those lessons with Miss Hufflethump and with your tutors! Did they mean anything to you?"

Judy had nothing to reply to that last question, which almost would have made Nick laugh if he wasn't feeling so guilty about everything.

"Well, let's be reasonable here," Nick's mother said gently, placing a paw on his son's back, "It looks like they got ahead of themselves. They certainly didn't do it on purpose."

Nick and Judy nodded their heads quickly, grateful for the supporting words. "We really didn't!" Judy insisted.

"I know that," Lady Hopps said, sighing heavily, "I don't mean to snap at you, Judy, nor you Nicholas, but you both understand how important it is that this all goes well. We have to make a good impression!"

Nick nodded. "We do, and I'm sorry, it won't ever happen again."

"Ever," Judy reinforced.

"You bet your carrots it won't," Sir Hopps said, "I think it's time we call in reinforcements, don't you agree, Bon?"

"Reinforcements?" Nick and Judy asked simultaneously.

"Agreed," Lady Hopps said gravely. "I'll send out a letter first thing tomorrow morning. But for now, you need to go clean up."

" _Mom!_ What is going o—"

 _"Now,_ young lady. You too, Nicholas."

Nick turned to look at his mother, who nodded. With heavy feet and drooping ears, Nick led Judy away from the town square, towards the long path home.

Both were silent for several moments, and neither spoke until they could no longer hear the whispers or scoffs of the crowd, nor see the town at all.

"Whaddya think she meant by 'reinforcements?'" Nick asked hesitantly.

"I don't know," Judy sighed. "It sounds terrible. Like we're wayward prisoners."

"Does that mean _two_ Miss Hufflethumps? I can barely handle one of her, Carrots."

"Considering how upset they were, I think it's even worse than Miss Hufflethump."

Nick didn't know it at the time, but as it would turn out, Judy was completely, entirely, absolutely right.


	12. Chapter 12

While Miss Hufflethump was the living embodiment of a Sunday nap, Nick and Judy's new instructor was a holiday firecracker. Everything about her was spritely, energetic, and intense. While Nick had been impressed with Judy's tenacity in comparison to her size, this new instructor was even smaller and yet somehow scarier.

The lamb had arrived a week or two ago, riding in on a fancy carriage from Savannah Centre. Nick had already visited the Zootopian capital for his university studies, but for the rest of Judy's siblings, including Judy herself, the fact that they were going to have someone from so far away staying in their home was very exciting.

Miss Bellwether was a lamb who made up for her lack of height with her loud laugh and endless eccentricities. She wore glasses, like Hufflethump, but hers were much larger and made her eyes looks that much more magnified. She was going to be their new 'public relations assistant', something that honestly made sense to Nick, since he was sure the only public interactions Miss Hufflethump had was snapping at Nick and Judy about salad forks and soup spoons.

"It's all about image!" Bellwether would always say, a determined glint in her eye. "We have to make sure your image is perfect!"

"What else is new?" Nick would mutter to Judy, and she'd smile politely.

Today was no different. It was a crisp September afternoon, the kind when the air was fresh and clean and smelt of apple trees. Most of Judy's younger siblings had returned to school, making the house slightly quieter, for which Nick was grateful. Lately, the littlest ones had taken to following him around, begging him to give them piggy-back rides or play with his tail. It was like dealing with baby Judy all over again, only this time it was worse, because there was like, 20 billion of 'em.

The three (Nick, Judy, and Bellwether), were seated in 3 chairs on the manor's veranda. The fall breeze wafted over Nick's fur as he sat back in his chair, sipping some carroty punch drink and mulling an ice cube around inside his mouth. Judy was seated in a chair beside him, posture straight and stiff.

Ever since the…er… _pie_ incident (something neither had verbally acknowledged since it happened), Nick couldn't help but notice she'd been extra suck-up-y. She had her corset on every day (he could see her itching at it, no matter how proper she was trying to be), she always said her 'please' and 'thank-you's,' and didn't so much as raise a complaint about anything at all.

It was becoming more and more frustrating, to say the least. Nick missed his Carrots, even if he'd only seen her for what felt like mere moments. He missed the bunny that'd giggled at his jokes, the bunny that'd climbed mountains with him, the bunny that he'd danced with…

She was a people-pleaser, and right now, she was trying to please her parents, even if it went against the fabric of her very being. _It wasn't fair,_ Nick grumbled, chewing on the ice cube, _They should listen to her, or at least cut her some slack._

He glanced over at the bunny beside him, but she didn't return his glance. She was entirely focused on Bellwether, who was currently chattering away in her chair across from theirs.

"Anyway, what was I saying?" Bellwether paused, furrowed her brow. "Oh! Right! So, your parents want to make sure the public doesn't regret this whole Unity Proclamation business. It's really important that the preds don't see this as some big joke, so, basically, no more public puking, okay?"

She laughed at this, her voice high and straining and sounding like it might crack, but it never did. Judy sat there, shifting uncomfortably and offering only a small, forced laugh.

"So, uh," Nick said quickly, trying to change the subject, "What's the plan here? I mean, what do we have to do to make sure mammals know we're serious?"

"Right," Bellwether replied, wiping tears from her eyes as her bleating laughter died down, "So, we're going to be having a little tour!"

Judy hesitated. "A tour?"

"Yes, Judy, a _tour._ I'm gonna be carting you two little lovebirds to every district in the land! That'll give you a chance to be shown off to the public, in a _controlled_ sort of way. We'll show you off, kiss some babies, and most importantly, show everyone that preds and prey can live in harmony, fall in love, sing kumbaya, you get the gist."

Nick saw Judy's eyes gleam at this. "So…I'll get to see the other parts of Zootopia?" She asked.

"Yes. That's exactly what I just said. You're gonna have to keep up here, Judy. Anyway, before that, I'm going to spend every minute until we leave making sure that you two are completely and absolutely ready to meet and greet!"

Nick eyed her. "What does that mean, exactly?"

"It means you two are going to be the talk of all of Zootopia. We're talking like, the biggest wedding ceremony since King Lionheart III married his second cousin."

"That was like, 100 years ago…" Nick muttered.

If Bellwether had heard him, she didn't pay it any attention. "Anywho," she continued, "We're gonna have to make sure you two are picture-perfect! The dream couple! Honeymooners! Soulmates!"

Nick and Judy exchanged quick glances. Nick wondered if Judy was feeling as weirded out as he was. Sure, he liked Judy and all, as a _friend,_ but _soulmates?_ That seemed a little extreme.

"Are we sure this is even going to work?" Nick asked, leaning forward, "I mean, are people really gonna buy that we fell in love with each other? Everyone knows we were arranged to be together."

"Listen, foxy," Bellwether said, rubbing at her temples slightly, "Your parents aren't paying me to have decisions on politics. I'm just here to polish you up and make sure everything looks nice and shiny and romantic."

Nick shrugged and sat back in his chair. "Fine."

"And the first way I'm going to do this is by making sure that you two look professional. Nick, sit up and spit that ice cube out. You look ridiculous. Judy, _smile._ You look dead."

Both Nick and Judy adjusted themselves, looking slightly startled to be called out.

"Now, do you love each other?"

Nick was happy that he'd ditched the ice cube like he'd been told, because he was pretty sure he would have choked on it. "W-what?"

"You're supposed to be _in love!"_ Bellwether sighed, looking up to the roof of the white veranda. "That's the entire point of the whole thing."

Judy's cheeks were flushed pink. "We are," she answered dutifully, "I mean…I guess…"

"Yeah," Nick added. "We're…ah…crazy about each other."

Bellwether's expression was flat. "Wow. I totally believe you guys," she said dryly.

Nick and Judy just glanced at each other again, sheepish. "We didn't know it'd be so…involved," Nick replied for the both of them, "We just thought we'd have to get married and it'd be over."

Bellwether laughed again. "Oh, no, no, no. No. You're going to be public figures for the rest of your lives! Every eye will be on you!"

"Oh." Nick swallowed the mounting weight of the whole situation and proceeded onward. "So…how do we make sure that people believe it?"

"By being in love!" Bellwether said simply, "Or at the very least, doing a good job of making everyone believe you are." She glanced between them, scrutinizing their awkward expressions. "Kiss her."

Nick didn't need an ice cube to choke this time, he simply did it on his own tongue.

To quote Judy, _sweet cheese and crackers._

Judy's eyes widened as Nick fell into a fit of choking and clearing his throat and coughing nervously. "I don't think that'd really be appropriate," she said quickly.

"Y-yeah!" Nick said hoarsely. "I mean, we can just hold paws or whatever."

"You can hold paws with anyone," Bellwether replied dismissively, "Not someone you've crossed species borders and divisions to fall in love with. If you two can barely be near each other, how do you really expect anyone to believe you're living in romantic harmony?"

"By taking our word for it?" Judy offered weakly.

Bellwether gave her a look.

Nick turned to look at Judy, who was currently looking slightly terrified. "Okay then," Nick said, taking a steadying breath, "We'll just…do that then."

Judy blinked at him, and he could hear her sharp intake of breath as he swiftly leaned over his chair and pressed a kiss to her cheek, right where her gray fur met the ring of white around her mouth. There. The world, as far as he could tell, had not ended. "Mwah," Nick added half-heartedly, trying to make Judy smile. It worked, kind of. He saw the faint flicker of one pass her face as he pulled back, and she brushed her ears behind her head nervously.

"There ya' go," Nick said, turning back to Bellwether. "A kiss."

He was expecting her to congratulate them, or at least give them some kind of pat on the back, but instead, Bellwether looked appalled.

"Are you kidding me?" The lamb cried out, exasperated. "You look like you're wishing your _grandmother_ a Merry Easter. I need to see a real kiss! One that _won't_ cause hundreds of preds to fall asleep and wake up wanting a revolution."

Nick highly doubted that would happen, no matter how good or bad their kiss was. However, at the current moment, Bellwether was staring down at them, nostrils flared, and Nick would be lying if he said he wasn't the least bit scared of her. Like he'd said, for such a small mammal, she was _intimidating._

"Sorry," Nick mumbled, feeling a blush start to creep over his cheeks.

"Do it again," Bellwether instructed tiredly.

Nick and Judy locked glances again. "Sure," Nick said, and his voice sounded like it wasn't his own.

Judy just looked at him. Instead of being slumped against her back, her ears were now raised high and alert, and her nose kept twitching. "Yeah," she replied meekly.

The two just looked at each other for a solid 10 seconds or so, both waiting for the other to make a move first. Once more, Nick took it upon himself to finally lean in closer, cheeks burning now. He'd kissed other mammals before (okay, so more like one), but that had just been silly, teenage hormones. This was Judy, someone who he'd grown up with, someone who used to fling mashed carrots at him and chew on his ears. Someone who'd been his close friend, as well as his worst enemy. Someone who embodied a sea of different emotions in his life, a sea he found himself often drifting in.

 _It's just a kiss,_ Nick told himself, and with that, carefully placed his mouth over hers.

Their mouths didn't fit together perfectly. Nick had to lower his head downwards to meet her height, and yet tilt it upwards and to the side to make sure his nose didn't bash into hers. Their kiss was stiff, muzzled pressed together just the right amount, but not too much. Not as much as a real, passionate kiss. There weren't any sparks or fireworks or angels singing, or any of that other stuff that was supposed to happen when you kissed your "one true love." Instead, he noticed that she smelt of timothy hay and lavender. How had he never noticed before? Her fur was soft, but not in the annoyingly fluffy way that his was, but in a slick, smoother way.

After what felt like an appropriate amount of time, Nick pulled away. He was thankful for the cool breeze wafting through the air, for he felt like his whole body was flushing hot with embarrassment. He couldn't look at Judy and Judy couldn't look at him.

"How was that?" Nick asked, keeping his gaze firmly directed at the lamb in front of him.

"Better," Bellwether said decisively. "We'll work on it."

Nick never thought he'd miss Hufflethump, but at the current moment, he'd give anything to be in the middle of a salad forks lesson right now.

* * *

Dinner had not gone well.

After Bellwether had gone on about how _GREAT_ their lessons had gone (Judy was still unsure of whether she was being sarcastic or not), in vivid detail, her parents and the majority of her siblings had a good laugh at her expense.

"Well, at least it's good to know she listens to _you_ ," her father had joked to Bellwether, which had left Judy simply steaming.

 _Not listen to them!?_ All Judy ever did WAS listen to them! She married who they wanted her to, she wore what they wanted her to, she followed every rule and speech and dance move and mannerism and fashion style and _she always listened to them._

She was gripping the edges of her seat so tightly she thought her paws might fracture. Her heart had sunk and at the same time was pounding fast and hard in her gut. Worst of all, she felt like crying, _actually crying,_ but she wouldn't let herself, she would remain composed, she wasn't going to break down, she _wasn't._

 _"MayIBeExcusedFromTheTable?"_ She instead said in one breath.

She barely heard her mother's confirmation before getting up and hurrying away from the table. There was a ringing in her ear and she felt exhausted both physically and emotionally. She just wanted to rip her dumb corset off and crawl into bed and take a long nap.

She'd just entered her bedroom and was right about to close the door when a certain fox slipped in behind her.

Judy jumped back, startled. She hadn't even heard him following her. "Nick? Where did you come from?"

"My parents," Nick said dryly, shutting the door behind them, "Are you ok?"

Judy blinked up at him, flustered. This was their first time talking directly to each other since the whole kissing thing earlier, an event she still wasn't completely over yet. "What do you mean?" She said thickly.

"You were clearly upset," Nick shrugged. He sauntered past her and flopped onto her bed. His brow furrowed as he looked around her bedroom, and even more so as he grabbed one of the many bunny plushes off her bed and examined it.

Judy walked over and sunk onto the bed beside him, making sure to keep a good foot or two of space between them. This caused half of her body to hang off the edge of the bed, but there was no way she was going to get any closer, on her _bed_ of all places.

"So, what's up?" Nick asked, tossing the bunny toy up in the air and catching it. He said it in that casual, nonchalant way of his, like he really didn't care, but Judy could see past that now. He was far more thoughtful than he let on.

"It's nothing," she said quietly. Her gaze was focused upwards as her eyes intently studied the brocade designs molded into the ceiling. "I'm just tired."

Nick rolled over onto his side so that he was looking at her. "I know that's not true," he said in a high pitched voice, moving the stuffed bunny's head as if it was talking. "Tell me the truuuuuuth Juuuuuudy."

"Sweet cheese and crackers!" Judy flushed and rolled her eyes at him. "Are you drunk?"

"Please," Nick snorted, setting the plush down, "The only alcohol you guys have around here is carrot wine, which, by the way, is disgusting."

"We have more," Judy said defensively, thinking back to the family's wine cellar. It was in an actual bunny burrow, in the basement under the manor.

"Where?"

"I'm not telling you," Judy said with a small smile, "If this is how you act sober," — she motioned to the bunny plush — "I don't want to see you drunk."

 _"Carrots,"_ Nick whined, giving her a puppy dog pout, "You're a jerk."

Judy gave him a wry smile and looked away again, eyes returning to the ceiling. "So I've heard."

"No matter," Nick said confidently, "We foxes have excellent senses of smell. I'll find it eventually. But stop deflecting, I know that something's up with you. Your little bunny foot wouldn't stop doing the thumping thing during dinner."

Judy shrugged. She could feel that ringing in her ear again, and her eyes were starting to sting. "I told you, I'm fine," she said, and her voice came out so strong and reassured she almost believed it herself.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong!"

"Is this about earlier? With the—" he paused, "kiss?"

Judy blushed. "No."

"Tell what is it?"

"Nothing!"

"So, by _nothing_ you really mean _something."_

"No! Why do you keep asking?"

"Because I want an answer I'll actually believe?"

Judy cringed, ears stiffening. " _Fine then!_ I'll act for you too, then! I'll tell you I'm fine and pretend to be so until you believe it! Is _that_ better?"

Nick was silent, frowning. His gaze scrutinized her, _pierced_ her. Had she hurt his feelings? Was he angry with her?

"I'm sorry," Judy said timidly, lowering her gaze. "I-I shouldn't have snapped at you. I'm just…I'm so tired of _pretending."_

Nick continued to say nothing. Judy thought she'd gotten to know the fox so well, but now she couldn't read him at all. She didn't know what to do and she was just so _tired_ and she wanted life to be simple.

"Please say something," she pleaded, hating the silence. "I'm really sorry."

"It's just…" Nick began, running his claw across her bedspread idly, "I notice things. And no offense, Carrots, but your parents are kinda terrible sometimes."

Judy froze. Her mouth fell open helplessly, unsure of whether to be angry or defensive or in agreement with him. "What?"

"It's just — they never seem to listen to you!" He explained, "And they get mad at you about dumb stuff, like getting sick. You never get to do what you want to do. And your idea of rebelling is just forcing yourself to be happy about doing whatever is that they want you to do!"

"That's not true," Judy replied quietly, though even as the words left her mouth, she knew they weren't true.

"You know I'm right," Nick said, giving her a stern look. "They should listen to you. Especially your mom."

Judy looked away from him, heart torn. The teenage, hormonal side of her wanted to snap back, to disagree, to defend.

But…

Were her parents really that bad? She loved them, always would, but thinking back…

 _You're a lady! And you're too flighty for your own good! I know you're not happy about the situation, but—_

 _Where are your manners, Judith? Your ladylikeness? All those lessons with Miss Hufflethump and with your tutors! Did they mean anything to you?_

 _Do you think he'd want a wife who'd be running around town at night, acting foolishly?_

 _Well, at least it's good to know she listens to_ you.

"They've never been proud of me," Judy mumbled, still not looking at Nick. "At least, they've never told me they were. I doubt they are."

"I think they're proud of you," Nick said hesitantly, "I think they're just too hard on you, is all."

"No," Judy shook her head, "They're not." As she continued speaking, her words came out more strained, broken-sounding. Pathetic. She felt herself holding back a lump in her throat, suppressing all the hurt, frustrated feelings that she'd been holding back for years. Before she could even fully think about it, more words came spilling from her mouth, rushing, rapid, relentless.

"A while back, when you were still away, I really wanted to be a constable," she said hurriedly, speaking quickly as if to get it all out before she lost her nerve. "I know it probably sounds stupid, but some of my brothers and cousins are, and I just thought it'd be really nice, you know? To actively help mammals and make a difference. I practiced and I studied for _months and months,_ and I wanted it _so badly,_ but my parents said no. They said it wasn't _ladylike._ Like, all I can ever do is embarrass them. I'm an _embarrassment._ "

Judy's gut clenched as she crumpled and cracked, finally breaking down into tears. She curled into a small ball as a catastrophe of different emotions engulfed her. On the one hand, it felt relieving to get all these suppressed emotions off her chest, to finally say what she was really feeling. But on the other hand, the minute she'd thrown all these buried emotions off her conscience, the weight of it all fell tumbling down, crushing and overwhelming her.

She cried and she sniffled and she wept, feeling embarrassed and ashamed.

Goodness, she couldn't believe that she was _crying_ in front of _Nick,_ but she couldn't stop. It felt so good to just get it all out of her, right down to every last hiccuping sob.

There was a rustle of her bedspread as she heard Nick swear under his breath. Before she could so much as blink, with one jerking movement the fox had pulled her head in against his chest and wrapped his arm around her waist. Her ears smushed against his torso, and she felt her body begin to reverberate with the steady rhythm of his heartbeat.

Her cries died down to sniffling whimpers as her nose was filled with the scents of violet musk and spice. It wasn't until now that Judy was suddenly and abruptly aware of just how different she and Nick were, species-wise. Nick was big. He took up the majority of the length of her bed (though to be fair, her bed was designed for bunnies), and even with her head nestled right under his muzzle, her feet barely met his.

And yet…

This felt even better than their kiss. Their kiss had been awkward, forced, uncomfortable. This was soft, soothing, warm. Nick holding her like this wasn't something done to please someone or to practice a charade. It was _real._

"If it means anything to you," Nick said slowly, "I'm proud of you."

"For what?" Judy hiccuped, voice sounding muffled.

"Because you're a good mammal. You're really nice and thoughtful and… _good._ You care about things. Real things. And you want to help others."

Judy sniffed, burrowing her face closer to his chest. His heart was still beating slow and steady into her ear, one beat, two beat, three. "Thank you," she whispered.

"On the other paw, I can't really disagree with the annoying thing though," Nick said, and Judy could practically _hear_ the smirk he probably had on his face. "I have several witnesses who will testify to you pouring salt in their tea, or destroying their carrot cakes."

Judy snorted, and hiccuped, and her hiccups turned into giggles, and her giggles into laughs. "Shut up," she mumbled, face still nestled in his torso.

Nick chuckled before falling silent, though this time it wasn't as tortuous as the last time. "We'll figure this out," he said after a moment, "It won't be like this forever."

Judy was slightly unsure as to what he meant by 'this.' Her parents judging her? The betrothal? Being forced to do things she didn't want to do?

She thought about questioning him, but at the same time, she was so comfortable right now, and thinking…questioning…just seemed like far too much effort.

Instead, Judy chose to just nod and close her eyes, allowing herself to drift off to the sound of Nick's heartbeat, its rhythm like a lullaby.

 _One beat, two beat, three…_

 _Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum..._

* * *

The grandfather clock struck 1 am, echoing throughout the Hopps manor. Nick glanced down, surprised that so much time had passed. His mind felt slightly hazy and he was unsure of whether or not he had drifted off.

Judy had. The little bunny was still curled up against him, fast asleep.

Nick pulled away gently, cradling Judy as if she was made of glass (she wasn't — she was tougher than that, she just didn't know it yet). He pulled back her bed sheets and tucked her under them, smoothing her ears flat against her back. With a small smirk on his face, he slipped the bunny plush he'd been messing around with earlier into her arms, ensuring that'd it be the first thing she'd see when she woke up in the morning.

"Sleep tight, dummy," he whispered, and with that, he quietly exited her room and returned to his.


End file.
